New Delhi: The India–US economic relationship is one of the most important in the world today, with billions of dollars moving between the two countries every year through trade in goods, services, investments, technology, and remittances. According to the latest estimates for 2024–2025, India earns about USD 196 billion from the U.S., while the U.S. earns USD 199 billion from India, leaving America with only a slight USD 3 billion edge. However, a closer look at the details shows how each country dominates in different areas.
Surplus In Goods Trade
India enjoys a strong surplus in goods trade. It exports around USD 87 billion worth of goods to the U.S., while American exports to India stand at just USD 41 billion. This gives India a significant USD 46 billion advantage, largely due to sectors like textiles, gems and jewelry, pharmaceuticals, and engineering goods. On the other hand, the U.S. takes the lead in services. India earns USD 41.6 billion from services provided to the U.S., such as IT and consulting, but U.S. companies earn nearly double — USD 81 billion — from their services in India, giving America a USD 41 billion edge in this area.
Company revenues also favor the U.S. strongly. Indian firms operating in America earn about USD 40 billion, while American companies in India make USD 81 billion, again creating a USD 41 billion surplus for the U.S. This highlights the dominance of American corporations such as Google, Meta, Amazon, and Microsoft in India. Education is another big contributor to U.S. earnings. Indian students studying in the U.S. bring in around USD 13 billion in tuition fees and living expenses every year, while India earns nothing in return.
The digital and intellectual property space further widens America’s advantage, with U.S. firms collecting about USD 20 billion from India. Defense and aerospace trade also adds USD 2 billion to America’s side of the balance sheet. India, however, gains significantly through remittances, receiving about USD 27 billion from its diaspora in the U.S., which is one of its strongest sources of income from the partnership.
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Earning On Remittances
Overall, India earns heavily from goods exports and remittances, while the U.S. dominates in services, company revenues, education, digital/IP, and defense. Although the balance sheet shows only a narrow USD 3 billion surplus for the U.S., the structure of the flows reveals deeper realities. India remains a strong supplier of goods and benefits immensely from its diaspora, but the U.S. leverages its corporate power, universities, and technology platforms to earn substantially more in high-value areas. For India to close the gap, it needs to build stronger global corporations, expand its education sector, and reduce dependency on U.S.-based digital and intellectual property services.
The India–U.S. partnership may look evenly matched in numbers, but the fine print shows where each country holds real economic power. Whether it is a dichotomy of economic nuances or double standards of US? Data never lie.
(The data presented is compiled from multiple credible sources that analyze India–U.S. economic flows. These sources include the United States Trade Representative (USTR), the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA), the Institute of International Education (IIE) Open Doors reports, the World Bank, and the Reserve Bank of India (RBI). Additionally, data has been referenced from Statista, company reports, and various corporate revenue disclosures. Corporate revenue growth projections are based on past compound annual growth rate (CAGR), while estimates for digital and intellectual property investments are derived from platform-level revenue disclosures of companies such as Google, Meta, and AWS.)
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