US Remains India's Top Trading Partner in FY25
The United States has been India's largest trading partner for the fourth year in a row in FY25, with the country witnessing bilateral trade of USD 131.84 billion, as per the figures published by the Ministry of Commerce. The consistent growth reflects growing economic relationships between the two nations, amid global uncertainties and changing trade patterns.
India's exports to the US registered a strong growth of 11.6 percent to USD 86.51 billion in FY25 from USD 77.52 billion in FY24. Imports from the US also increased by 7.44 percent to USD 45.33 billion, up from USD 42.2 billion in the last fiscal year. Consequently, India's trade surplus with the US jumped to USD 41.18 billion in FY25, up from USD 35.32 billion in FY24.
Principal Indian exports to the US were drug formulations and biologicals (USD 8.1 billion), telecom instruments (USD 6.5 billion), and precious stones (USD 5.3 billion). Other major export products were petroleum products, gold jewellery, cotton garments, and iron and steel products. On the import front, the US provided India with crude oil (USD 4.5 billion), petroleum products (USD 3.6 billion), coal (USD 3.4 billion), and aerospace equipment, among others.
While that, India's trade deficit with China has expanded sharply to USD 99.2 billion in FY25 a 17 percent increase from USD 85.07 billion in FY24. This increase has occurred despite a steep 14.5 percent fall in India's exports to China, falling to USD 14.25 billion from USD 16.66 billion. Conversely, Chinese imports rose 11.52 percent to USD 113.45 billion from USD 101.73 billion in the last fiscal.
Even as the trade deficit widened, China continued to be India's second largest trading partner and bilateral trade increased to USD 127.7 billion in FY25 from USD 118.4 billion in FY24.
The UAE was India's third-largest trading partner at a trade value of USD 100.5 billion in the previous fiscal.
In the future, the India-US trading relationship will further intensify. The two countries are already in talks to sign a comprehensive trade agreement, with the intention to increase bilateral trade in goods and services to USD 500 billion by 2030 compared to the current USD 191 billion. This is an indicator of the mutual strategic desire to promote economic cooperation and joint growth in the coming years.
