Trade Deficit Gaps in US and India

June 11, 2026

The United States trade deficit narrowed slightly in April as exports rose faster than imports, while the country’s trade gap with India remained significantly smaller than those with several major Asian manufacturing economies, according to data released on Tuesday by the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. The overall U.S. goods and services deficit stood at $55.9 billion in April, down from a revised $56.6 billion in March. Exports increased to $327.1 billion, up $8.3 billion from the previous month, while imports rose $7.6 billion to $383 billion.

For India, the latest figures showed the United States recorded a goods trade deficit of $2.4 billion in April, placing it well below the deficits Washington reported with Taiwan and Vietnam, both at $19.3 billion, Mexico at $14.8 billion, China at $12 billion, Germany at $5.6 billion and South Korea at $4.7 billion. India’s trade gap was comparable to that of France and Italy and smaller than that of several major U.S. trading partners.

The data also showed that on a broader goods-and-services basis, available quarterly with a one-month lag, the U.S. trade deficit with India stood at $11.1 billion in the first quarter of 2026. That ranked behind Taiwan ($59.1 billion), Vietnam ($54.2 billion), Mexico ($43.1 billion), China ($30.4 billion), South Korea ($15.7 billion) and Germany ($14 billion). The figures indicate that while India remains an important source of imports for the United States, it is not among the countries contributing to Washington’s largest bilateral trade imbalances. The U.S. monthly trade deficit with India was only about one-fifth that with China and substantially lower than those with Taiwan and Vietnam. The modest improvement in the overall U.S. trade balance came as exports of goods rose $8.7 billion to $221.3 billion in April.

Growth was led by capital goods, which increased by $4 billion, including a $2.5 billion rise in computer exports. Industrial supplies and materials increased by $2.5 billion, helped by a $6.4 billion jump in crude oil exports. Consumer goods exports also rose by $1.7 billion. Exports of services slipped by $0.4 billion to $105.8 billion. Travel services declined by $0.3 billion, while transport services and maintenance and repair services each fell by $0.2 billion. On the import side, goods imports increased $6.4 billion to $304.9 billion. Capital goods accounted for much of the increase, rising by $7 billion. Imports of computers increased by $2.2 billion, semiconductors by $1.7 billion and telecommunications equipment by $1.6 billion. Services imports rose by $1.3 billion to $78 billion