India and US bilateral trade rises 119% since 2007 at $126.2 billion

Bilateral trade of goods and services between India and the US has gone up by 119 per cent since 2007, touching $126.2 billion, according to the data collated by the office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR).

According to the data, exports were valued at $49.4 billion and imports were worth $76.7 billion. The US goods and services trade deficit with India was $27.3 billion in 2017.

The data comes at a time when the two nations are locked in a trade war.

“India is our ninth largest goods trading partner with $74.3 billion in total (two-way) goods trade during 2017. Goods exports totaled $25.7 billion and goods imports totaled at $48.6 billion. The US goods trade deficit with India was $22.9 billion in 2017,” said USTR on its website.

While India was the United States' 15th largest goods export market in 2017, the latter exported $25.7 billion of goods to India, up by 18.7 per cent ($4.1 billion) from 2016 and up 71.6 per cent from 2007.

US exports to India accounted for 1.7 per cent of overall US exports in 2017. The top export categories in 2017 were precious metals and stone (diamonds) at $7 billion, mineral fuels ($2.8 billion), aircraft ($2.2 billion), machinery ($2.1 billion), and optical and medical instruments ($1.4 billion).

US exports of services to India were estimated at $23.7 billion in 2017, 15.2 per cent ($3.1 billion) more than 2016, and 174 per cent higher than 2007 levels. Leading services exports from the US to India were in the travel, intellectual property (computer software, audio and visual related products), and transport sectors.

In the imports bracket, India was the United States' 11th largest supplier of goods in 2017. 

US goods imports from India totaled $48.6 billion in 2017, which surged by 101.9 per cent from 2007. The imports from India account for 2.1 per cent of overall US imports in 2017.

The top import categories during the last calendar year were precious metal and stone (diamonds) ($10 billion), pharmaceuticals ($6.1 billion), mineral fuels ($2.7 billion), machinery ($2.5 billion), and miscellaneous textile articles ($2.5 billion).

The US also imported $2.6 billion of agricultural products from India during the period under review. In the services category, $28.1 billion were imported from India. The imports of services were about nine per cent more than 2016, and a whopping 183 per cent greater than 2007 levels.

“Leading services imports from India to the US were in the telecommunications, computer, and information services, research and development, and travel sectors,” USTR said in its report.