- India has recorded a trade deficit, the difference between imports and exports, with nine of its top 10 trading partners, including China, Russia, Singapore, and Korea, in 2023-24, according to official data.
- The data also showed that the deficit with China, Russia, Korea, and Hong Kong increased in the last fiscal compared to 2022-23, while the trade gap with the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Indonesia, and Iraq narrowed.
- China has emerged as India’s largest trading partner with $118.4 billion of two-way commerce in 2023-24, edging past the U.S.
- The bilateral trade between India and the U.S. stood at $118.28 billion in 2023-24. Washington was the top trading partner of New Delhi during 2021-22 and 2022-23.
- India has a free trade agreement with four of its top trading partners — Singapore, the UAE, Korea and Indonesia (as part of the Asian bloc).
- India has a trade surplus of $36.74 billion with the U.S. in 2023-24. America is one of the few countries with which India has a trade surplus.
- The surplus is also there with the U.K., Belgium, Italy, France and Bangladesh.
- India’s total trade deficit in the last fiscal narrowed to $238.3 billion as against $264.9 billion in the previous fiscal.
- A deficit is not always bad if a country is importing raw materials. However, it puts pressure on the domestic currency. A rising trade deficit can cause the country’s currency to depreciate because more foreign currency is needed for imports.
Dig Deeper: Read about the initiatives of the Government of India to increase exports and reduce import dependency.
