Kamal Ghorui
India is rapidly strengthening its position in global electronics trade, now supplying about 40 per cent of the smartphones imported by the United States that were previously sourced from China.According to a recent report by McKinsey & Company, cited by ANI, the United States has been actively diversifying its import sources and has replaced about two-thirds of the goods it previously sourced from China, valued at more than $80 billion. India and ASEAN economies have played a significant role in this shift.“India, for example, increased smartphone exports to the United States to levels equal to roughly 40 per cent of what China had supplied,” the report stated.India’s rise in smartphone exports has been particularly notable, with shipments to the US increasing sharply despite the long geographical distance of around 13,000 kilometers. This reflects the country’s growing role in global electronics manufacturing and supply chains.The report also highlighted that ASEAN economies replaced about two-thirds of US laptop imports that had earlier come from China, pointing to a broader shift in manufacturing bases across Asia.It noted that global trade remained resilient in 2025 despite concerns of a slowdown. Both US imports and Chinese exports reached new highs during the year, while overall global trade grew faster than the global economy.Among emerging economies, India stood out for expanding trade across regions. However, while overall exports remained largely unchanged, smartphones were a key exception and drove export growth.The report said the shift in trade patterns is being driven by domestic priorities and geopolitical realignments. Advanced economies and China are increasingly reorienting trade away from geopolitically distant partners, while emerging economies like India continue to expand trade across markets.It also pointed to changes in other regions. ASEAN strengthened its position as a manufacturing hub by importing more inputs from China and exporting finished goods to the United States. Brazil increased commodity exports to China, replacing goods that China had earlier sourced from the US.
