Bilateral trade

Question:Ministry of Commerce and Industry has released the data on Bilateral trade between India-US for 2019-20.Consider the following statements:
1) US has surpassed China to become India’s top trading partner.
2) Bilateral trade between the US and India increased from 2018-19 to 2019-20.
3) The trade deficit between India and China has also increased.
Which is/are correct?
(a) 1 and 2
(b) 2 and 3
(c) 1 and 3
(d) 1,2 and 3
Answer : (a)

  • Context:
  • Ministry of Commerce and Industry has released the data on Bilateral trade between India-US for 2019-20.
  • Takeaways:
  • Largest Trading Partner: United States(US) has remained India’s top trading partner for the second consecutive fiscal in 2019-20.The bilateral trade between the US and India stood at $ 88.75 billion in 2019-02 as against $87.96 billion in 2018-19.
  • Trade Surplus: US is one of the few countries with which India has a trade surplus.The trade gap between the countries has increased to $17.42 billion in 2019-20 from $16.86 billion in 2018-19.
  • China: In 2018-19, US first surpassed China to become India’s top trading partner.The bilateral trade between India and China has dipped to $81.87 billion in 2019-20 from $87.08 billion in 2018-19.
  • Trade deficit: The trade deficit between India and China has also declined to $48.66 billion in 2019-20 from $53.57 billion in 2018-19.
  • Facts:
  • Trade Surplus: It is an economic measure of a positive balance of trade, where a country’s exports exceed its imports.
  • Trade Deficit: It occurs when a country’s imports exceed its exports during a given time period.It is also referred to as a negative balance of trade(BOT).

By-Arpit Mishra

Links:

https://www.businesstoday.in/current/economy-politics/india-us-inch-closer-to-signing-limited-trade-deal-bilateral-free-trade-agreement-a-possibility/story/410148.html