The US remained India's largest trading partner for the fourth consecutive year in 2024-25 with bilateral trade valued at USD 131.84 billion, while the country's trade deficit with China widened to USD 99.2 billion during the same period, government data showed.
In the last fiscal, India's exports to China contracted 14.5 per cent to USD 14.25 billion as against USD 16.66 billion in 2023-24. The imports, however, rose by 11.52 per cent in 2024-25 to USD 113.45 billion against USD 101.73 billion in 2023-24.
The trade deficit with China has widened by about 17 per cent to USD 99.2 billion in the last fiscal from USD 85.07 billion in 2023-24.
China continued to be the second largest trading partner of India with USD 127.7 billion two-way commerce in 2024-25 as compared to USD 118.4 billion in 2023-24.
According to the commerce ministry data, China was India's top trading partner from 2013-14 till 2017-18 and also in 2020-21. Before China, the UAE was the country's largest trading partner. The US has been the largest partner since 2021-22.
Commenting on the data, think tank GTRI (Global Trade Research Initiative) said India's trade deficit with China hit a "staggering" USD 99.2 billion in FY25, which is a "record gap" that reflects deeper structural dependencies, not just trade imbalances.
"Imports surged by 11.5 per cent to USD 113.4 billion, driven by rising demand for electronics, EV batteries, solar cells, and key industrial inputs -- sectors where China dominates India's supply chains. China is India's top supplier in all eight major industrial product categories," GTRI Founder Ajay Srivastava said.
The PLI (production linked incentive) schemes are fuelling import growth due to their heavy reliance on imported components, he said.
"What's more alarming is that India's exports to China fell 14.5 per cent, dipping to USD 14.2 billion -- now lower than they were in FY2014, when the rupee was significantly stronger. This signals more than a trade issue; it's a competitiveness crisis. These numbers are a wake-up call. India needs to fix its internal manufacturing gaps and invest in deep industrial capabilities. Without that, the deficit will only grow, and so will our dependency," he added.
During the last fiscal, the UAE with USD 100.5 billion was the third largest trading partner of India.
In the last fiscal, India's exports to the US rose by 11.6 per cent to USD 86.51 billion as against USD 77.52 billion in 2023-24. The imports were up by 7.44 per cent in 2024-25 to USD 45.33 billion against USD 42.2 billion in 2023-24.
The trade surplus with America touched USD 41.18 billion in the last fiscal from USD 35.32 billion in 2023-24.
In 2024, India's main exports to the US included drug formulations and biologicals (USD 8.1 billion), telecom instruments (USD 6.5 billion), precious and semi-precious stones (USD 5.3 billion), petroleum products (USD 4.1 billion), gold and other precious metal jewellery (USD 3.2 billion), ready-made garments of cotton, including accessories (USD 2.8 billion), and products of iron and steel (USD 2.7 billion).
Imports included crude oil (USD 4.5 billion), petroleum products (USD 3.6 billion), coal, coke (USD 3.4 billion), cut and polished diamonds (USD 2.6 billion), electric machinery (USD 1.4 billion), aircraft, spacecraft and parts (USD 1.3 billion), and gold (USD 1.3 billion).
The bilateral trade between India and the US is expected to get a boost in the coming years as both are negotiating a trade agreement. The aim is to increase two-way commerce in goods and services to USD 500 billion by 2030 from USD 191 billion at present.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
