India expects its economic integration and trade with the US to keep growing irrespective of the change in regime in the country but is watchful of what the Trump administration’s policy would be towards China, according to top government officials.
“Our integration with the US is growing and we are getting bi-partisan support. Whatever is the regime, we are finding that our economic integration with the US is increasing over the period of time... I trust that it will continue,” Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal said in an interaction with the media on Thursday.
However, there is uncertainty about the policy that the US President-elect Donald Trump — who will come into office in January 2025 — will adopt towards China. “With China, we are waiting and watching to see how it will unfold. Our export strategy will take into account all these factors,” Barthwal said.
Trump was at logger-heads with China during his first stint as US President from 2017-2021 and started a tariff war with the country in 2018 to make it change its alleged unfair trade practices and intellectual property theft.
It is widely expected that once he comes back into office, a trade war could resume with Beijing that may benefit countries like India that could step in to fill the supply gaps in the US market.
Irrespective of what happens with China, India’s trade relations with the US is likely to continue on the growth path, the Commerce Secretary indicated.
Since 2001, the US has shown a steady and growing demand for goods from India, with imports rising significantly over the years. In 2001, the US’ imports from India stood at $9.7 billion, representing just 0.9 per cent of its total global imports. However, by 2023, this figure had reached $87.3 billion, making up 2.8 per cent of the US’s imports from the world, according to a Commerce Department note.
“This trend underscores India’s increasing importance in the US supply chain and the strengthening economic ties between the two nations. During this period, administrations led by presidents from both major US political parties — two from the Democrats and two from the Republicans — oversaw policies that, directly or indirectly, facilitated this trade growth, reflecting bipartisan support for economic engagement with India,” the note added.
On whether India would pursue the proposed mini-trade deal discussed during the Trump’s former regime, Barthwal said that a call on the matter would be taken once the President-elect had his team in place and a clear policy pronouncement.
The US was India’s top export destination in FY24 with shipments valued at $ 77.51 billion, while imports from the country were valued at $ 42.2 billion.