New Delhi: While the US seeks to increase pressure on India in the wake of the Russia-Ukraine war, bilateral trade between the two countries has hit a record high. The bilateral trade between India and the United States for 2021-22 has crossed $119 billion. The US has overtaken China to become India’s largest trading partner in bilateral trade with India. Two years ago, the discussions for a free trade agreement between India and the United States had failed. The increase in bilateral trade, despite that, becomes significant.
According to the information released by the Ministry of Commerce of India, bilateral trade between India and the United States has reached $119.42 billion in the financial year 2021-22. Trade between India and China stood at $115.42 billion during the same period. Data showed that India’s exports to the US increased by a whopping $25 billion. In 2020-21, India’s exports to the US stood at $51.62 billion, while in the financial year 2021-22, the exports reached $76.11 billion. India’s imports from the US have also increased to $43.31 billion.
India’s trade surplus with the US has gone up to $32.8 billion. This is a significant development. India has always had a deficit in its bilateral trade with China. China had never helped India to bridge this multi-billion dollar deficit. Experts say that if China had opened the market for Indian companies in agriculture, pharmaceuticals and IT, the deficit that India has to endure in bilateral trade would have been reduced.
Against this backdrop, India’s bilateral trade with the United States is even more encouraging. India and the United States have set a target of $500 billion for bilateral trade. Both the countries have been demanding trade concessions and facilities to achieve this target. However, the discussion on this has not been fruitful so far. There are major differences between India and the United States in some areas. There were also instances of the US filing complaints against India in the World Trade Organization.
Despite this, the increase in bilateral trade between India and the United States is significant. This further reinforces the belief that the two countries will decide on bilateral trade, considering their broader trade and strategic interests.
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