Textile and apparel exporters suggest reduction in tariff with the U.S.

As per CITI, U.S. is the single largest export vacation spot for Indian textile and apparel sector.

Most textile and apparel export associations have recommended to the authorities to go in for reduction of tariff or zero-for-zero commerce settlement with the U.S.

The Apparel Export Promotion Council stated the tariff levied by the U.S. on textiles and apparel ranges from 2% to 32%. Reduction in tariff is not going to have an effect on Indian exporters, stated AEPC’s secretary basic Mithileshwar Thakur.

According to the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI), the U.S. is the single largest export vacation spot for Indian textile and apparel sector, contributing to twenty-eight.5% of the complete T&A exports between January and November final 12 months.

For the U.S., China stays the dominant provider with a 25.6% share and India is the third largest provider with 10.8% share. However, whereas the U.S. imports from China declined at a CAGR of 9.4% over the final 5 years, imports from India have grown at a CAGR of 9.1% throughout the identical interval. In 2024, the U.S. T&A imports from India stood at about $10.8 billion, whereas exports by the U.S. to India have been price $0.41 billion.

India primarily imports fibre merchandise from the U.S., with cotton making up 50.6 % of complete U.S. T&A exports to India. India’s exports to the U.S. are dominated by apparel and residence textiles, accounting for 81.5% of complete shipments.

India ought to discover a zero-for-zero commerce settlement with the U.S. for T&A merchandise with mandatory safeguards for delicate merchandise. This will create a degree taking part in area for Indian exporters in opposition to Vietnam, which advantages from obligation concessions. With diminished tariffs, India’s T&A exports to the U.S. might surge to $16 billion inside the subsequent three years, the CITI stated.

According to the Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council (Texprocil), the tariffs will be diminished to equal the U.S. tariff for T&A. “The trade balance is in India’s favour. Indian textiles can gain a lot from reduction or zero-for-zero agreement. India is also exploring free trade agreement with the U.S. So we need to wait and see,” stated Siddhartha Rajagopal, Texprocil’s Executive Director.