US Tops India’s Trade Charts for 4th Year — What’s Driving the Boom?

India's two-way commerce with the United States stood at a high of $131.84 billion during the financial year 2024-25, the fourth consecutive year in which the US has been India's leading trading partner, as per data supplied by the Ministry of Commerce. 

This is an increase of 11.6 per cent in exports to the US, up to $86.51 billion, and an increase of 7.44 per cent in imports from the US, up to $45.33 billion. As a result, India's trade surplus with the US widened to $41.18 billion from $35.32 billion in the last fiscal year.

Key Sectors Driving Trade Growth

The trade boom was fueled by huge exports from India to the US in industries like pharmaceuticals ($8.1 billion), telecom instruments ($6.5 billion), and precious stones ($5.3 billion) as reported by PTI. Some of the other major exports were petroleum products ($4.1 billion), gold jewelry ($3.2 billion), cotton garments ($2.8 billion), and iron and steel products ($2.7 billion).

On the import front, India's key imports from the US were crude oil ($4.5 billion), petroleum products ($3.6 billion), coal and coke ($3.4 billion), cut and polished diamonds ($2.6 billion), electric machinery ($1.4 billion), aircraft and parts ($1.3 billion), and gold ($1.3 billion).

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Trade Deficit With China Increases

Though the US continues to be India's largest trading partner, trade with China also rose to $127.7 billion in 2024-25 from $118.4 billion in the last year reported PTI. India's exports to China, however, fell 14.5 per cent at $14.25 billion, while imports from China went up by 11.52 per cent at $113.45 billion. This resulted in a trade deficit of $99.2 billion with China, which was up by 17 per cent from the last year's deficit of $85.07 billion.

Ongoing Trade Negotiations

India and the US have recently agreed on the terms of reference for the first phase of a bilateral trade deal, with the goal of enhancing trade to $500 billion by 2030. The negotiations will continue, with both countries wanting to deepen economic relations across many sectors.