India eyes to boost trade with US; January trade deficit as expected

India said on Monday that bilateral merchandise trade with the United States has increased by about 8% to more than $106 billion in the ten months through January and a proposed trade pact between the two countries will further benefit both.

During Prime Minister Narendra Modi's recent visit to the U.S., both countries agreed to work on the first segment of the deal by the fall of 2025, aiming for bilateral trade worth $500 billion by 2030.

"In reference to the U.S. ... not only our exports are increasing, but also our imports are increasing, which means that the overall trade is increasing with the U.S.," Trade Secretary Sunil Barthwal told reporters, while releasing monthly trade figures.

India's merchandise exports to the U.S. rose to $68.47 billion in the April-January period from $62.84 billion in the year-ago period, while imports rose to $37.62 billion from $35.46 billion, data released by the Commerce Ministry showed.

The South Asian country's merchandise trade deficit stood at $22.99 billion in January, in line with economists' expectations of $22.35 billion, according to a Reuters poll.

Merchandise exports dropped to $36.43 billion in January from $38.01 billion in December, while imports edged lower to $59.42 billion from $59.95 billion the month prior.

Services exports in January were estimated at $38.55 billion and imports at $18.22 billion against $32.66 billion and $17.50 billion, respectively, in December.

The data comes days after Modi met U.S. President Donald Trump in the White House and agreed to resolve issues over tariffs, with India promising to buy more U.S. oil, gas and military equipment.

The U.S. has a $45.6 billion trade deficit with India, making it among the key targets for Trump's reciprocal tariffs on every country that taxes U.S. imports.

Both countries have agreed to a "tough" timeline to negotiate the first tranche of a trade deal and will find ways to increase bilateral trade, said Rajesh Agrawal, a senior Indian trade official.

In January, India's gold imports fell to $2.68 billion from the previous month's $4.7 billion, while crude oil imports fell to $13.4 billion from $15.2 billion in December, data showed.

Going by current trends, India's merchandise and services exports would cross $800 billion in the current fiscal year ending in March, Barthwal added.