Table of Contents
- According to the data of the commerce ministry, in 2019-20,
- The bilateral trade between the US and India stood at USD 88.75 billion as against USD 87.96 billion in 2018-19.
- In 2018-19, the US first surpassed China to become India’s top trading partner.
- The bilateral trade between India and China has dipped to $81.87 billion in 2019-20 from $87.08 billion in 2018-19.
- Trade deficit between the two neighbours have declined to $48.66 billion in 2019-20 from$53.57 billion in the previous fiscal.
- The data also showed that China was India’s top trading partner since 2013-14 till 2017-18.
- Before China, UAE was the country’s largest trading nation.
Trade surplus with US
- The US is one of the few countries with which India has a trade surplus.
- The trade gap between the countries has increased to $17.42 billion in 2019-20 from $16.86 billion in 2018-19, the data showed.
- Trade experts believe that the trend of widening trade ties between New Delhi and Washington will continue in the coming years also as both the sides are engaged in further deepening the economic ties.
- Presence of Indian diaspora in the US is one of the main reasons for increasing bilateral trade
- Although the trade pact will be mutually beneficial for both the countries,
- India should be a bit cautious while negotiating the pact with the US in areas such as agriculture, dairy and issues related intellectual property rights.
What US-India is negotiating on?
- India is seeking-
- Relaxation in US visa regime,
- Exemption from high duties imposed by the US on certain steel and aluminium products, and
- Greater market access for its products from sectors such as agriculture, automobile, automobile components and engineering.
- On the other hand, the US wants-
- Greater market access for its farm and manufacturing products, dairy items, medical devices, and data localisation,
- Apart from cut on import duties on some information and communication technology products.
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