India's foreign economic relations are briefly the most important. Geography of India's foreign economic relations

Foreign trade. The economic reforms that unfolded in the 1980-1990s had a great impact on the development of foreign economic relations in general and foreign trade in particular. The changes concern the regulation of foreign economic relations, the growth of both exports and imports, and partly the structure of exports of goods and services. According to the IMF, in 2006 India's share of world exports was 1.3%, which is far behind China's share and comparable to Brazil's share. According to the WTO, India ranks 28th in the world in terms of export volume, and 17th in terms of import volume (Table 18.2).

Table 18.2. Dynamics of India's foreign trade in 2000-2007. (billion dollars, at current prices)

The export quota, calculated as the ratio of export volume as a percentage of the country's GDP, was 12% in 2000, and by 2006 it had increased to 15%. In terms of the size of its export quota, India is significantly inferior to the newly industrialized countries of Asia and Mexico with their export-oriented economies, but is quite comparable to China and Russia. Most industries and major agricultural sectors work primarily to meet the needs of the Indian domestic market.

From the data in table. 18.2 it is obvious that India is characterized, firstly, by a constant predominance of imports over exports, which reflects the relative poverty of the country’s natural resource potential, especially the lack of hydrocarbon raw materials. Therefore, the negative balance of foreign trade increases during periods of rising oil prices.

Secondly, these tables show a fairly rapid increase in exports, especially since 2003, which reflects the high rates of development of the economy as a whole and changes in the structure of exported goods. The decline in foreign trade volumes is explained by the influence of the global crisis.

In the first decades of India's existence as an independent state, foreign trade played a major role in providing the basis for state sovereignty. Foreign trade policy was aimed at industrialization, the creation of basic industries and the development of productive forces in agriculture. The state encouraged import substitution, currency savings, and provided protection from competition from foreign goods. The state tightly controlled the foreign trade operations of private firms through a system of licensing, foreign exchange restrictions and protective import duties, as well as a fixed exchange rate for the national currency, the rupee.

This system was maintained until the early 1990s, when the liberalization of foreign trade became an integral part of general economic reforms.

The main goals of foreign trade policy were the country's transition to a globally oriented economy to extract maximum benefit from the opportunities of the world market, including technological re-equipment, increasing the competitiveness and quality of Indian goods to the world level.

The new rules abolish most quantitative restrictions, reduce the number of licenses, simplify bureaucratic formalities and procedures, and provide more freedom and support to the private sector. At the same time, the state seeks to promote the growth of exports and its diversification, expanding the sales market for Indian goods. Special state councils have been created to encourage exports by product group. At the same time, Indian manufacturers of goods and services based on new technologies are supported. The support system, including in special economic zones, covers 5,000 types of commercial products. There are special committees that monitor the quality of traditional Indian exports produced on plantations and farms.

Agricultural and raw material specialization has changed significantly in recent years. As in other developing countries, manufactured goods are taking the lead, while the share of agricultural products and mineral raw materials is declining. The share of finished products in exports exceeded 80%. Software took first place in value in the export of goods and services (an almost 3-fold increase from 2000 to 2006). In the commodity export of finished products, the first places are occupied by jewelry made of precious and semi-precious stones, ready-made clothing, pharmaceutical products, the share of machinery and equipment, including electronics, is significantly increasing.

In Indian imports, oil and petroleum products are in first place in terms of value, followed by rough precious stones (including small diamonds, called “Indian goods”), machinery and equipment, components for electronics, ferrous and non-ferrous metals, fertilizers, and paper.

The geography of India's foreign trade is quite extensive. According to the IMF, in 2005, developed countries accounted for 43% of India's exports and 33% of its imports. India's largest counterparties in this group of countries are the USA, Germany and the UK. Oil-producing states, primarily the Persian Gulf countries, occupy a growing share of trade. Next come China and the newly industrialized countries of Southeast Asia.

A very modest place in India's foreign trade is occupied by its closest neighbors - SAARC partners - Pakistan, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka (a total of 4.2% of exports and only 0.5% of imports). This is explained by the similarity of export specialization of India and its neighbors, as well as the tension of political relations in certain periods.

Foreign investment. Liberalization of the economy and the removal of several restrictions on foreign companies and the expansion of the private sector have led to an increase in foreign investment in India.

If in 1990 foreign investment amounted to only $103 million, then in 2006 India received direct investment in the amount of $16.4 billion and portfolio investment in the amount of $9 billion. The influx of foreign capital has especially increased since 2003. Volume accumulated foreign investment is estimated at $243.7 billion in 2006. The volume of cross-border remittances is very significant - $50 billion in 2008, which exceeds the annual volume of foreign investment.

In 1991, the government established the Foreign Investment Promotion Bureau. It is the main body responsible for reviewing and approving foreign direct investment (FDI) projects. About 90% of investment flows are directed through this bureau.

The main areas of investment of foreign capital are the service sector, automotive industry, telecommunications, and the pharmaceutical industry.

Branches of the largest TNCs have been opened in the country - Bayer, Cadbury, Phillips, Siemens, Glaxo, Unilever, etc. In accordance with Indian legislation, TNCs operate autonomously from head offices and other branches and prefer to accept Indian names. Mixed enterprises with foreign capital are also being created, and it is allowed for foreigners to have a controlling stake. For example, Toyota, operating in India since 1997, created the Toyota Kirloskar Motor company, which plans to produce up to 600 thousand cars per year and conquer 10% of the country's automobile market by 2010.

Indian firms have increased borrowing abroad, which is overseen by the Reserve Bank of India, which acts as the central bank. Thus, for the 2006/07 financial year, a limit was set for corporate borrowings abroad at $15 billion.

In recent years, Indian capital has been actively exported abroad, primarily to the USA, Great Britain and other EU countries, as well as to developing countries in Asia and Brazil. Indian investments are made mainly in the extraction of oil and other mineral raw materials, ferrous metallurgy, and the pharmaceutical industry. Since the lifting of government restrictions on the size of foreign asset purchases in 2005, Indian companies have announced the acquisition of 480 companies. Indian corporations are allowed to invest abroad up to 300% of their own capital, including placing up to 35% of their net profits in foreign securities. In particular, the state-owned oil and gas company ONGC made 17 acquisitions in 14 countries, investing $5.5 billion.

The country has completely abolished foreign exchange restrictions on current account balance transactions, and entrepreneurs can freely exchange rupees for foreign currency for commercial needs. However, capital balance restrictions remain and full convertibility of the Indian currency is under consideration.

Indian-Russian economic relations. According to Russian statistics, in 2008 India's foreign trade turnover reached $6.7 billion. Such volumes of economic ties do not correspond to the potential of the fast-growing economies of both countries. According to interstate agreements, the goal is to reach a level of $10 billion in the coming years.

Historical excursion. Modern economic ties between India and Russia are based on the traditions of Indian cooperation with the USSR in the 50-80s. last century. During this period, economic relations between India and the USSR developed extremely actively and successfully. India was the largest partner of the USSR among developing countries, and for India, the Soviet Union was one of the main partners in creating the foundations of heavy industry, in the construction of enterprises in ferrous metallurgy, heavy engineering, oil, gas industries, nuclear, thermal and hydropower. Trade turnover between the USSR and India reached its maximum in 1990 ($5.5 billion).

The peculiarities of Indian trade with Russia are the constant excess of imports over exports for India, and a relatively narrow range of export and import goods. Part of Indian goods comes to Russia to pay off the rupee debt formed in connection with investment loans of the 1960-1980s. The amount of this debt was $3 billion in 2006. It is expected that part of this debt will be invested in investment projects in India.

The structure of Indian exports to Russia is as follows: in first place are pharmaceutical products, followed by goods produced in the agricultural sector (coffee, including instant coffee, tea, tobacco, spices, etc.), machinery and equipment, and light industrial products.

It is characteristic that tea exports to Russia have sharply decreased, which is due to decreased quality control, falsification of Indian varieties and competition from cheaper tea from third countries.

The leading place in Indian imports from Russia is occupied by machinery, equipment and means of transport, ferrous metals, fertilizers, non-ferrous and precious metals and stones, and paper. The group “machinery, equipment and means of transport” partially includes weapons and military equipment. Together with dual-use goods, weapons and military equipment account for 30-40% of Indian imports from Russia, and military-technical cooperation is an important area of partnership between the two states. The Russian-Indian long-term program of military-technical cooperation includes almost 200 projects, the total cost of which is estimated at $18 billion. In terms of purchases of Russian weapons and military equipment, India is second only to China.

Investment cooperation on both sides is carried out mainly by state corporations. Russia is participating in the construction of the large Kudamkulam nuclear power plant and other energy facilities, in the supply of equipment and technical documentation for licensed production of military aircraft, in geological exploration and other projects. On the Indian side, the already mentioned ONGC corporation invested $2.8 billion in the Russian Sakhalin-1 project, receiving a 20% stake in the international consortium. The first oil produced as part of this project has already arrived in India.

India's largest trade and economic partners are developed capitalist countries, which account for about half of its foreign trade turnover. India's main partners are the USA, Japan and the EEC countries.

Despite the significant diversification of foreign economic relations, India still sells a significant part of its traditional, and in recent years, new goods in the markets of these countries. Earnings from the export of goods and services to industrialized capitalist countries form the basis of foreign exchange earnings for India.

Developed capitalist countries are important suppliers to the Indian market of many machinery and equipment, food and industrial goods. The importance of this group of countries in India’s foreign economic relations is also determined by the fact that they, as well as the international financial organizations IMF and World Bank under their control, are its largest creditors. It is worth noting that India has one of the highest levels of external debt among developing countries (829 billion rupees, 1989), which is a heavy burden for its economy.

At the same time, it should be emphasized that the strengthening of the national industrial base as a result of the industrialization of agricultural production, as well as the reorientation of India in the field of geography of foreign economic relations with an emphasis on developing countries and countries of Eastern Europe, allowed India to reduce its dependence on developed capitalist countries, whose share in India’s imports fell from 75% in the early 70s to 55% in 1989. For the same reasons, the share of capitalist countries in exports is also declining.

India's desire to break out of dependence on developed capitalist countries is also expressed in its efforts to improve the structure of national exports in the direction of increasing the export of finished products in comparison with raw materials and semi-finished products. However, despite the measures taken, 60% to 70% of the total value (1987) of India's export trade with the United States, its largest partner in the world market, is accounted for by traditional goods: jute products, textiles, nuts, tea, coffee, etc. Products new to India, and primarily finished industrial products, are just beginning to make their way into the American market and so far the volume of their exports remains insignificant.

In an effort to overcome negative trends in trade with the United States, Indian public and private foreign trade organizations carefully study the conditions of the American market and carry out quite significant advertising of traditional and new Indian export goods. At the same time, as the Indian magazine Commerce notes, trade between India and the United States "... continues to develop according to the classic model of relations between a developed and developing country."

At first glance, relations between India and the EEC countries in the field of trade and economic relations are developing relatively successfully. This is evidenced by: - the rapid growth of trade with the G7 countries; - conclusion of an agreement on trade cooperation - the first agreement of this kind between the countries of the “common market” and a country not associated with it; - temporary preservation of England's previous customs preferences in relation to India after its accession to the EEC; - India concludes an agreement with the EEC on coffee and jute.

At the same time, there are many complex and intractable problems in India's trade with the common market. In particular, typical of this trade is India's trade deficit, the size of which remains essentially unchanged. India managed to achieve a positive trade balance with England in the mid-70s, but this did not have a significant impact on the further development of this trade. Another characteristic feature of India's trade with EEC member countries is the predominance of traditional goods in Indian exports. They account for up to 70% of the value of exports, and besides, these goods on the Western European market face customs restrictions that are discriminatory in comparison with the EEC member states.

Along with developing exports to developed capitalist countries, India is trying to alleviate the problem of trade imbalances with them by financing its imports from these countries by obtaining loans and benefits from them.

There is a liberalization of the terms of loans provided to India by a number of Western European countries: Germany, England, Holland. A distinctive feature of the 80s is that a significant part of the concessional loans provided to India by developed capitalist countries. comes to it from Western European countries. The latter use such loans as a very effective means of competing in the Indian market with US monopolies and have managed to achieve a significant increase in their sales to India. For the period 1982-1989. Imports of goods into India from EEC member countries increased from 2.2 billion rupees, and their share in Indian imports increased from 13.3% to 29.2%. Trade with Japan also increased.

Summarizing the above regarding trade and economic relations of India with developed capitalist countries and their current state, assessing their prospects, it should be noted that the development of these relations is experiencing an increasing impact of the growth of India’s own economic potential, the strengthening of its foreign economic relations with developing countries and the weakening of economic ties with countries Eastern Europe.

Foreign trade is of considerable importance for the country's economy. However, India is still poorly involved in the international division of labor. Foreign trade turnover - 104 billion dollars, 2001. (exports - 43 billion dollars; imports - 61 billion dollars).

The country exports textiles, ready-made garments, jewelry and precious stones, agricultural and food products, machinery, as well as ore minerals, medicines and other goods. India accounts for 21% of global tea exports.

India exports iron ore mainly to Japan and also to some European countries.

In the commodity structure of imports, the share of fuel resources, machinery, equipment, weapons, and lubricating oils is large.

India's largest trading partners are the USA (19.3% of exports and 9.5% of imports), Germany, Japan, and Great Britain. Despite the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) established in 1985, the scale of foreign trade with the closest neighboring members of this bloc (Pakistan, Bangladesh, etc.) is small. India's trade ties with Southeast Asian countries are expanding.

India is a member of such organizations as:

AfDB - African Development Bank;

ADDB - Asian Development Bank;

TKK - Commodity Credit Corporation;

WHO - World Health Organization;

WTO - World Trade Organization, etc.

Since the early 90s, the country has been implementing an extensive program of new economic reforms, the goal of which is to create a market economy in the world economy. The government has liberalized laws governing the flow of foreign investment into the country. The largest investors are the USA, Japan, Germany and other developed countries.

An important channel for the penetration of foreign capital into India is government loans, credits and subsidies provided by economically developed countries and the world's largest banks. India's external financial debt exceeds $100 billion (among the group of developing countries, only Brazil and Mexico have large external debt).

India's foreign economic relations with Russia have changed in recent years. Previously, the country was one of the main trading partners of the USSR (through the sale of tea, coffee, pepper, spices, fabrics, and medicines). In recent years, trade turnover between the countries has decreased significantly (from $3.7 billion in 1988 to $1.8 billion in 2001). Currently, a number of measures are being implemented aimed at developing new conditions for Russian-Indian trade and economic cooperation. India continues to remain a promising and capacious market for Russia.

Conclusion

A country with an ancient culture, a history full of drama and heroism, rich traditions of the struggle for national liberation - India today looks confidently into the future.

In international affairs, India is pursuing an independent course. Having gone through all the hardships of almost two centuries of domination by foreign colonialists, she stands on the side of those whose freedom and independence were and are being trampled upon. India contributed greatly to national liberation movements in the former colonies, strongly condemns racism and apartheid in South Africa, and advocates a fair settlement in the Middle East.

Indian culture has traditionally been characterized by high ideals of peace and humanism. It was in India that the idea of non-alignment was born. Non-alignment in India’s understanding is not self-isolation or “sitting between two stools”, but an active, constructive participation in the reconstruction of the world on a fair and democratic basis.

India is the author of a number of major initiatives aimed at solving key international problems - eliminating the threat of war, ending the arms race, especially nuclear ones, and establishing the principle of peaceful coexistence as an immutable law of interstate communication.

India strives to develop good bilateral relations with all countries, especially its neighbors. “Peace”, “friendship”, “cooperation” - these words reflect the goals that Delhi sets in the international arena. This is why India is so close and understandable to me.

For better use of domestic resources and funds attracted from abroad, as well as general coordination of the activities of the public and private sectors of the national economy and overcoming dependence on imperialism, the state began to actively use programming and planning methods in its economic policy. The importance of foreign economic relations for the economic development of India is determined by the need to attract additional material and financial resources to the country, as well as the sale of part of the products on the world market. It increases many times over in the era of the scientific and technological revolution, because foreign economic relations are becoming one of the most important channels through which scientific and technological advances are imported from industrialized countries. Overcoming the overt and covert effects of imperialism, India is struggling for the effective use of its foreign economic relations, the most important elements of which are foreign trade, receiving foreign technical assistance on an intergovernmental basis, as well as investment of foreign private capital. Each of the components of India's foreign economic relations has played and continues to play an important role in its economic policy, but their relative importance changes as the national economy strengthens. By the beginning of the 70s, the public sector of the economy had become an important factor in the life of the country, there was a certain restriction on the activities of foreign capital, and economic ties with the countries of Eastern Europe expanded and strengthened. These changes had a serious impact both on the internal economic situation of the country and on the nature of its relations with the outside world; in particular, a greater balance was achieved in the scale and intensity of economic relations with capitalist countries and the countries of Eastern Europe and the USSR. Accordingly, all elements of India's foreign economic relations have undergone qualitative changes. First of all, this led to a reduction in size and, most importantly, a deterioration in the conditions for attracting foreign private investment to the country. At the same time, India's relationship with foreign private capital remains extremely close, which is achieved by providing benefits to foreign companies that undertake to import new technology into the country, develop its export or produce energy resources. India has a favorable attitude towards foreign technical, financial and economic assistance provided on a government-to-government basis. It should be noted the role of state assistance from the countries of Eastern Europe and the USSR, and now the CIS and, first of all, Russia, which made a significant contribution to the development of the Indian economy and to the creation of many of its industries. With their assistance, the construction of mechanical engineering, chemical, and metallurgical enterprises, nuclear power plants, educational and scientific centers strengthened, and in some cases laid the basis of the country's scientific and technological progress practically from scratch. Currently, due to fundamental changes that have occurred in the economy and politics of the countries of the former socialist camp, the flow of aid from Eastern European countries has decreased and India has to reorient its economic ties, strengthening foreign economic relations with developed capitalist as well as developing countries. The problems of strengthening its own production base and some economic difficulties, in particular in the area of the balance of payments, are encouraging India to strengthen the role of foreign trade relations in solving national problems of economic development. India's use of foreign economic relations is carried out, first of all, with the aim of eliminating economic dependence on imperialism and strengthening the country's economic independence. It should be noted that the Indian bourgeoisie and, first of all, its monopolistic circles, strive to subordinate foreign economic relations to the interests of maximizing their profits. A reflection of this direction in the development of India's foreign economic strategy is the course towards the accelerated expansion of trade with developing countries. The countries of the Afro-Asian region have become one of the main markets for the products of new branches of the Indian manufacturing industry and at the same time an important supplier of agricultural products and raw materials and, most importantly, mineral raw materials and oil for the needs of Indian industry. The development of this market is carried out in India through the combined efforts of the public and private sectors, and along with the exchange of goods, the export of public and private capital is of great importance. The unevenness of capitalist development has led to a situation in which India, while continuing to lag behind the developed capitalist countries, is at the same time significantly ahead of most developing countries. This also leaves an imprint on India’s foreign economic policy, according to which developed capitalist countries, CIS countries and Russia remain India’s main foreign trade partners. India's main trading partners: for export - the USA, Russia, Japan and Great Britain, for import - Russia, the USA, Germany, Great Britain, Canada. Main export commodities: tea, iron ore, cotton fabrics, ready-made garments, jute, leather and leather goods, pearls and precious stones, machinery and equipment.

2.10. External economic relations, export, import. Participation in international economic unions.

India exports iron ore mainly to Japan and also to some European countries.

In the commodity structure of imports, the share of fuel resources, machinery, equipment, weapons, and lubricating oils is large.

India is a member of such organizations as:

AfDB - African Development Bank;

ADDB - Asian Development Bank;

TKK - Commodity Credit Corporation;

WHO - World Health Organization;

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