US Economic Relations with India

Trade and commerce have been at the center of the US economic relations with India. There has been steady increase in this department. During 1990 the financial volume of the bilateral trade between the two countries had been 5.6 billion dollars. During the year 2004 the figure stood at 21.68 billion dollars, which was an improvement by 387%. In 2003 India had exported goods and services worth 13.05 billion United States dollars to the USA. In the next year there was a growth of 19.28% in the worth of goods exported to USA and the amount stood at 15.57 billion US dollars.

The United States exported goods worth 4.98 billion dollars to India in the year 2003 and in the next year the total worth of the goods exported to India by the US was 6.11 billion dollars. This was an addition of 22.69%. As per the information provided by the U.S. Department of Commerce, India exported merchandise worth 9737 million US dollars to US and the US exported merchandise worth 3757 million US dollars. In 2002 the US exported goods worth 4101 million US dollars and India exported goods worth 11818 million US dollars. In 2003 India exported merchandise worth 13055 million US dollars to the United States and the US exported 4980 million US dollars.

In 2004 the total worth of the merchandise exported by the United States to India was 6109 million US dollars and for India the amount stood at 15572 million US dollars. From the months of January to August in 2005 India had exported merchandise worth 5210 million US dollars and India had exported 12002 million US dollars worth merchandise to the US.

Over the years there have been certain goods that have been exported more often by India to US and the same is also true of the opposite. As far as India are concerned, the goods at the frontline are cut and polished diamonds as well as jewelry. Automobiles and parts, textile, organic chemicals and engineering equipments have also been occupying important positions in this context. In 2005 diamonds and precious stones were the leaders with 29% of the total goods exported. Textiles came second with 25% and iron and steel were third with 5.73%. Organic chemicals were 3.46% of the total exports made and electric machinery fifth with 3.24%.

In case of the US exports to India engineering equipments, optical and medical equipments, precious stones and metals, aircraft and other aviation equipments and organic chemicals have been the traditional ones. In 2005 the engineering equipments amounted to 30.20% of the total goods exported to India and precious stones and metals were second with 9.25%. Organic chemicals accounted for 7% of the total goods exported at that time like optical equipments. Aviation and aircraft accounted for 10.4% of the entire export of US to India.