Among the top ten trading partners of India, the USA is the only country with which India has a trade surplus.
As per the latest data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the net trade balance between India and the US stood at +$15.2 Bn between April-Sep 2022.
This is the only positive figure which features in the list of top ten trading partners of India by value.
The total exports stands at $41.5 Bn while the imports $26.2 Bn according to the data.
Moreover, the US continues to be the biggest trading partner of India with cumulative trade value at $67,7 Bn.
Only recently, the US surpassed China to become India’s top trading partner in 2021-22.
China was India’s top trading partner from 2013-14 till 2017-18 and also in 2020-21. Before China, the UAE was the country’s largest trading partner.
India is emerging as a trusted trading partner and global firms are reducing their dependence on China for their supplies and are diversifying business into other countries like India. India joined a US-led initiative to set up an Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF) touted to boost economic ties further.
The US has consistently been India’s largest market for services exports, but the recent overseas sales of merchandise goods to the USA overtook China, making it the largest bilateral trading nation of India.
Though it paints an optimistic picture with respect to the USA, India has recorded huge trade deficits with other partners like China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and UAE.
China tops the list of countries with which India has a trade deficit standing at $44.5 Bn. In the backdrop of the Ukraine-Russia conflict, India’s imports from Russia have skyrocketed while exports have dropped by almost 19% leading to a $20 Bn trade deficit. The trade deficit with Iran and Saudi Arabia stood at $19 Bn and $17.88 Bn respectively.
Moreover, China’s exports to sanctions-hit Russia have risen sharply in the last few months. Russia – China trade has sky-rocketed as the value of trade rose by an annual rate of 35 per cent in October, 2022 as per G20 data.