StatsGuru: 7-October-2013

Decoding India's trade link with the US

India's economic relationship with the United States is going through a rocky patch. As Table 1 reveals, foreign direct investment from the US has fallen sharply in the past few years. However, as Table 2 shows, the share of exports to the US in India's total exports has picked up, after a dip during the financial crisis, to stand at over 12 per cent at present. The share of India's imports from that country in its total imports has fallen slightly from the 2008-09 level but has responded less to recent events than exports, according to Table 3. So, India's total trade with the US as a proportion of its overall trade has risen over the past two years, as Table 4 shows, but not reached the pre-crisis level yet.

India mainly exports jewellery and textiles to the US, as Table 5 shows, though pharmaceuticals and chemicals - the latter difficult to produce in the US, with stringent environmental laws - have increased their share lately. In value terms, much that is being imported, too, are metals and stones - some of those gold, for financial reasons, and the rest input for jewellery trade. The remainder is dominated by manufactured machinery, as Table 6 shows.

Immigration is also a flashpoint. Table 7 reveals the proportion of Indian immigrants in the US among all immigrants in that country has steadily increased every decade but is still small, given India's size. India-born workers, however, are concentrated in professions different from other immigrants, as Table 8 shows - management and IT in particular, whereas other immigrants are often in service industries or personal care. (Click here for table)