WASHINGTON: India’s exports to the United States jumped by over 14 per cent to 4.89 billion dollars in December 2020 from 4.28 billion dollars in the year-ago period. December also marked the fourth consecutive month of positive growth, indicating a strong recovery in trade.
But US exports to India were down by 7.4 per cent to 2.78 billion dollars from 3.01 billion dollars in December 2019. That left a trade deficit 2.1 billion dollars, up 65 per cent from 1.27 billion dollars in favour of the United States, according to a statement issued by the Indian embassy in Washington. The total trade between the two countries moved up by 5.3 per cent to 7.68 billion dollars in 2020 from 7.29 billion dollars in 2019. However, despite robust growth towards the year-end, India’s exports to the United States in 2020 (January to December) were down by 11.3 per cent to 51.1 billion dollars as compared to 57.7 billion dollars in 2019. On the other hand, US exports to India dropped by over 20 per cent to 27.4 billion dollars in 2020 from 34.3 billion dollars in the previous year. The total trade in 2020 declined by 14.6 per cent to 78.5 billion dollars from 91.9 billion dollars in the previous calendar year, leaving a deficit of 1.7 percent.
The statement said Indian exports in certain categories have been consistently featured in several monthly trade analysis reports, indicating that these product groups showed strong resilience despite the Covid-19 pandemic.
