During 2022-23, India’s two-way commerce with China declined by about 1.5 per cent to $113.83 billion as against $115.42 billion in 2021-22…reports Asian Lite News
The US has emerged as India’s biggest trading partner in 2022-23 on account of increasing economic ties between the two countries.
According to the provisional data of the Commerce Ministry, the bilateral trade between India and the US has increased by 7.65 per cent to $128.55 billion in 2022-23 as against $119.5 billion in 2021-22. It was $80.51 billion in 2020-21.
Exports to the US rose by 2.81 per cent to $78.31 billion in 2022-23 as against $76.18 billion in 2021-22, while imports grew by about 16 per cent to $50.24 billion, the data showed.
During 2022-23, India’s two-way commerce with China declined by about 1.5 per cent to $113.83 billion as against $115.42 billion in 2021-22.
Exports to China dipped by about 28 per cent to $15.32 billion in 2022-23, while imports rose by 4.16 per cent to $98.51 billion in the last fiscal. Trade gap widened to $83.2 billion in the last fiscal as against $72.91 billion in 2021-22.
Experts believe that the trend of increasing bilateral trade with the US will continue in the coming years also as New Delhi and Washington are engaged in further strengthening the economic ties.
Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) president A Sakthivel said increasing exports of goods such as pharmaceutical, gems and jewellery were helping India to push its shipments to America. “The trend of increasing trade with the US will continue in the coming months also,” he said.
FIEO vice-president Khalid Khan said, “India is emerging as a trusted trading partner and global firms are reducing their dependence on China for their supplies and are diversifying business into other countries like India.”
Rakesh Mohan Joshi, director of the Indian Institute of Plantation Management (IIPM), Bangalore, said that India provides huge trade opportunities for the US as India is the world’s third largest consumer market and the fastest growing market economy.
Interestingly, America is one of the few countries with which India has a trade surplus. In 2022-23, India had a trade surplus of $28 billion with the US.
The data showed that China was India’s top trading partner since 2013-14 till 2017-18 and also in 2020-21. Before China, the UAE was the country’s largest trading partner.
In 2022-23, the UAE with $76.16 billion, was the third largest trading partner of India. It was followed by Saudi Arabia ($52.72 billion), and Singapore (USD 35.55 billion).
Last year, commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal had exuded confidence that the India-US bilateral trade in goods and services will reach USD 500-600 billion by 2030 as their relation continues to strengthen.
On whether India will join the trade pillar of 14-member Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity (IPEF), Goyal said it would depend on what India will get in return.
While 13 member countries have joined all four subjects — trade, supply chains, clean economy and fair economy– under IPEF, India has opted out of the trade pillar as of now. It has joined the other three subjects.
“With regard to joining the trade pillar of IPEF, India decides its strategy on its own terms…If you want binding commitments (from India) on different subjects, tell me what I am getting in return. It has to be good for my people and my country. What you give me in return will determine whether I will join the trade pillar. You negotiate and if we see some advantage, then we will join.
“India and the US relations are continuously improving and strengthening and today we have a bilateral trade of about USD 175 billion (exports and imports of goods and services). I believe that in the coming 7-8 years , it will be USD 500-600 billion by 2030, when our exports in goods and services will be USD 2 trillion each,” Goyal said.
On a free trade agreement with the US, the minister said America is not looking for a new trade pact with any country.
The US is looking at India as its friend and a trusted partner, he added. The IPEF was launched jointly by the US and other partner countries of the Indo-Pacific region on May 23 in Tokyo.
The 14 IPEF partners represent 40 per cent of the global GDP and 28 per cent of global goods and services trade. The members include the US, Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Fiji, India, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
On trade pacts, he said the government conducts comprehensive consultation with all the stakeholders before taking a call on these agreements.
“We do not do FTAs for the sake of FTA,” he said, adding trade pacts signed between 2008 and 2011 are “unbalanced and unfair”.
Further, on assembly elections in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat, he exuded confidence that the BJP would form the government in both states with full majority.
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