After US tariffs dented shipments, India’s exports in select categories to the US fell sharply from $7 billion between September and December 2024 to just $2.1 billion in 2025. In response, exporters recalibrated quickly, redirecting trade flows toward Gulf nations, where shipments in the same categories nearly doubled from $854 million to $1.7 billion. That adjustment is now under strain. With tensions escalating in West Asia and shipping routes through Hormuz facing disruption, these very categories—many of which had seen sharp growth—are once again exposed to uncertainty.