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The trade war between the US and China is expected to benefit Indian exporters in increasing their shipments to the American market, sources said.
They said the country was the fourth-largest gainer when the US imposed higher duties on Chinese goods during US President Donald Trump's first tenure.
After coming to power again, Trump on Saturday signed an order to impose stiff tariffs on imports from China, fulfilling a campaign promise but raising the prospect of increased prices for American consumers.
"India is likely to gain out of this trade war. Significant rise in exports are expected from India," a source said.
Exporters have also stated that the imposition of customs duties by the US on imports from China provides huge export opportunities for India to America.
The tariffs would affect exports from China to the US as they would push the prices of their goods in the American market, making them less competitive.
"The move can create opportunities for Indian exports due to the trade diversion effects as US buyers will seek alternative suppliers to avoid higher costs," Federation of Indian Export Organizations (FIEO) director general Ajay Sahai said.
He said the extent of benefits depends on India's production capacity and competitiveness.
"The sectors which are likely to gain are electrical machinery and components, auto components, mobile, pharma, chemicals, apparel and fabrics," Sahai added.
During April-November 2024-25, the US was the second-largest trading partner of India with $82.52 billion bilateral trade in goods ($52.89 billion worth of exports, $29.63 billion of imports and $23.26 billion trade surplus). In 2021-24, America was the largest trading partner of India.
According to think tank Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI), the top 100 US export products account for 75 per cent of India's total imports from that country.
While India's simple average tariff is 17 per cent, the actual duties on key US imports are much lower, GTRI Founder Ajay Srivastava said.
"Petroleum crude ($5.03 billion) faces a minimal duty of Re 1 per tonne, while cut and polished diamonds ($3.09 billion) are taxed at zero per cent, as most are reimports," Srivastava said.
Other major imports, including coking coal ($2.37 billion), aeroplanes over 15,000 kg ($1.94 billion), steam coal ($1.76 billion), and liquefied natural gas ($1.41 billion), carry a modest 2.5 per cent duty, he said.
"Gold in unwrought non-monetary forms ($1.18 billion) is taxed at 6 per cent, while aluminium scrap ($0.89 billion) enjoys nil duty.
"Almonds ($0.87 billion) are subject to Rs 35 per kg duty," he said, adding that in reality, the weighted average tariff on US exports to India is below 5 per cent, much lower than India's overall tariff average.