The US' export to India in both goods and services has increased this year, resulting in a substantial drop in trade deficit as compared with the last year, according to the latest official figures.
As per the figures available with the US Department of Commerce's Bureau of Census, in the first six months of this year, America's export to India in merchandise increased by 28.42 per cent from $12.1 billion to $15.5 billion.
During the same period, India's export to the US in goods increased by 13.11 per cent from $23.6 billion in 2017 to $26.8 billion.
The total bilateral trade in the first six months of the year increased by 18.4 per cent from $35.7 billion in 2017 to $42.36 billion in 2018. The trade deficit in goods registered a decline of 2.54 per cent, according to the figures.
The bilateral trade figures in the services sector for the first six months are yet to be revealed.
However, in the first quarter of 2018, the deficit in bilateral trade in services declined by a whopping 42.9 per cent from $ 11.89 billion to $678 million.
India's export to the US in the services sector in the first quarter of the year increased by 1.83 per cent from $6.8 billion to $7 billion. During the same period, America's export to India in the services sector increased by 11.19 per cent from $5.69 billion to $6.3 billion, the figures stated.
Total bilateral trade in the services sector in the first quarter increased by 6.7 per cent from $12.57 billion to $13.3 billion.
If these trends continue, the bilateral trade in goods and services is expected to maintain the upward trajectory and register a decline in trade deficit, which is one of the main issues of concern of the Trump administration.
India and the US' total bilateral trade in goods and services has increased from a mere $20 billion in the year 2000 to over $126.1 billion in the year 2017. The two countries have set a target of taking the total bilateral trade to $500 billion.
Source:- Dailyshippingtimes.com
