The India-US trade relationship explained in 4 charts
US trade policies are under the microscope after President Donald Trump enacted — or has said he's planning to enact — tariffs on the country's three largest trading partners and teased more, broader tariffs in the coming days. With Narendra Modi, prime minister of India, expected at the White House later this week, CNN takes a look at the trade relationship between the two countries.
Here is what you need to know about US-India trade:
The US is India's largest trade partner as of 2024, yet India ranks tenth in the list of US trading partners for the same year. The bilateral trade between the US and the world's most populous nation stands at $129.2 billion in 2024, a record for the partnership.
With Trump planning to impose 25% tariffs on the US's two top trade partners, Mexico and Canada, and a 10% tariff already in effect on Chinese goods, experts say India could benefit from these strained trade relationships by exporting more technology, electronics and jewelry to America.
'The United States and India both want to enhance their economic influence in the Indo-Pacific region and blunt China's economic primacy. The time is ripe and the incentives are in place for these two leaders to beat the odds and make a major deal,' wrote Kenneth I. Juster, former US ambassador to India from 2017 to 2021, and Mark Linscott, former assistant US trade representative for South and Central Asian affairs from 2016 to 2018, in a January 21 Foreign Policy article.
The trade deficit between the US and India has been widening, with the United States importing $45.7 billion more from India than it exported there in 2024. And US imports from India accounted for about 2.7% of all imported goods last year.
Trump as been vocal about Modi's own penchant for tariffs, but there have been signs that the Southeast Asian country is open to cooling on levies. Earlier this month, India's finance minister slashed the import duty on motorcycles, a move benefiting American bike company Harley Davidson.
The US counts pearls, semi-precious stones, pharmaceutical products, and electrical equipment among their top imports from India. In 2023, imports of the top five products going from India to the US totaled more than $47 billion.
Modi is expected to visit Washington on Wednesday and Thursday this week, February 12 through 13.
The two leaders spoke on the phone on January 27, seven days after Trump's inauguration, where they discussed expanding cooperation, security in the Indo-Pacific and the importance of India buying more US-made security equipment.
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