Expect India, US trade ties to keep growing irrespective of regime changes: Commerce Secretary

Prime Minister Narendra Modi with US President Donald Trump

Commerce Secretary Sunil Barthwal on November 14 said that trade ties between US and India should continue to grow irrespective of the changes in regimes.

Responding to a question on fears around India facing steeper tariffs once the oncoming US government headed by President-elect Donald Trump takes charge, thereby adversely impacting bilateral trade relationship, Barthwal said, "If you look at India’s integration with US, it is growing, and we are getting bipartisan support."

"Whatever is the regime, our economic integration with US is increasing over a period of time, it is a continuous upward movement. I trust that it (US-India trade ties) will continue and infact it will be better than the previous relationship," he said.

The US is India's largest trading partner, with annual trade exceeding $190 billion. Between FY20 and FY24, India's merchandise exports to the US rose by 46 percent, from $53.1 billion to $77.5 billion. Imports from the US also grew, from $35.8 billion to $42.2 billion, a rise of 17.9 percent.

Reacting to Trump's recent comments about India being a "tariff abuser", India's Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on November 12 had said that the country is open to lifting duties on certain goods provided it does not hurt local manufacturing capacities.

The commerce ministry added that the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of US's imports from India, which stood at 10.48 percent from 2001 to 2023, significantly outpaced America's overall import growth rate from the world that came in at 4.76 percent during the same period.

"The robust growth in imports from India highlights the increasing competitiveness and diversification of Indian exports in the American market. This trend is likely to continue as both countries pursue deeper trade relations, with India emerging as a key partner in supplying a wide range of products to meet US demand," the ministry said.

While Trump's comeback is expected to lead to higher tariffs for Indian exports like steel, some anticipate, the US's hyper-focus on the China plus one strategy could end up benefiting the South Asian nation in the long run.

On that, Barthwal said, "with respect to China, India is on a wait and watch mode to see how things will unfold. Our export strategy will take into account all these factors."