News:

• India has recorded a trade deficit, the difference between imports and exports, with nine of its top 10 trading partners, including China, Russia, Singapore, and Korea, in 2023-24.
• The data also showed that the deficit with China, Russia, Korea, and Hong Kong increased in the last fiscal compared to 2022-23, while the trade gap with the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Russia, Indonesia, and Iraq narrowed.
• The trade deficit with China rose to $85 billion, Russia to $57.2 billion, Korea to $14.71 billion and Hong Kong to $12.2 billion in 2023-24 against $83.2 billion, $43 billion, $14.57 billion and $8.38 billion, respectively, in 2022-23.
• China has emerged as India’s largest trading partner with $118.4 billion of two-way commerce in 2023-24, edging past the US.
• The bilateral trade between India, and the US stood at $118.28 billion in 2023-24. Washington was the top trading partner of New Delhi during 2021-22 and 2022-23.
• India has a free trade agreement with four of its top trading partners – Singapore, the UAE, Korea and Indonesia (as part of the ASEAN bloc).
• India has a trade surplus of $36.74 billion with the US in 2023-24. America is one of the few countries with which India has a trade surplus. The surplus is also there with the UK, Belgium, Italy, France and Bangladesh.
• India’s total trade deficit in the last fiscal narrowed to $238.3 billion as against $264.9 billion in the previous fiscal.

https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/economy/india-in-trade-deficit-with-nine-of-top-10-trading-partners-in-2023-24/article68217875.ece