The US has announced 25% tariff and additional penalty duty will be imposed on India from August while it has already imposed 35% and 36% tariffs on Bangladesh and Cambodia respectively. However, the US tariff on Indonesia and Vietnam is lower at 19% and 20% respectively. Till now, the tariff to the US from India was 10%.
“The new tariff rate is going to seriously test the resolve and resilience of India’s textile and apparel exporters as we will not enjoy a significant duty differential advantage vis-à-vis many other countries, except Bangladesh, with whom we compete for a larger share of the US market,” said Rakesh Mehra, chairman of Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI).
The US is India’s largest market for textile and apparel exports. During January-May 2025, US imports of textile and apparel from India were valued at $4.59 billion, a rise of more than 13% compared to the same period last year. China is the biggest exporter to the US followed by Vietnam, India and Bangladesh.
The industry now expects the tariff issue to get resolved following the bilateral trade agreement between India and US. Sanjay Jain, managing director of TT Industries, said India had aimed at 10-15% growth in its textiles exports to the US which will be impacted due to the new tariff.