Exports dip, though, from last month’s numbers.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: Trade between the US and India saw growth in April, with imports from India into the US spiking to a new monthly record.
US imports from India totaled $4.458 billion in April, while exports from the US to India were $1.401 billion, for a cumulative sum of $5.859 billion in trade over the course of April 2014. The difference in imports versus exports for the US, however, was $3.057 billion – the steepest yet in 2014.
The increase in imports coming from the Indian subcontinent is the highest that has ever been recorded in a single month, besting the previous record of $4.201 billion from May of last year. Exports from the US to India, however, dropped in April; just one month earlier, the number was $1.714 billion, indicating a decrease of about $313 million in just one month’s time.
So far this year, exports have totaled $6.065 billion from January through April, while imports stand at $15.059 billion thus far. That’s a difference of just under $9 billion between exports and imports, but is generally in line with what US-India trade relationships over the last several years have been.
For the same four-month time span in 2013, exports were at $6.81 billion, while imports stood at roughly $13.76 billion. That means that 2014 is likely on course to top last year in terms of exports, a significant indication given that last year’s total Indian import number of $41.845 billion was an all-time high.
India and the US have voiced their intention to have trade between the two countries hit a new target of $500 billion in total annual trade within the new few years, so these new numbers, which were released on Wednesday by the US Census Bureau, are an encouraging sign for both nations.
Last year, India was the 11th largest trading partner for the US, accounting for 1.7% of America’s total international trade amount. Canada came in at number one and accounted for 16.4% of US trade, China was #2 with 14.6%, and Mexico #3 with 13.2%. After that, all trade partner percentages fall into the low single digits — #4, Japan, accounted for 5.3% of total US trade, and Germany came in at #5 with 4.2%.