Indian Textiles And Leather Get A Tariff Gift From Mr. Donald Trump

With the United States agreeing to slash tariffs on Indian goods to 18 per cent from 50 per cent, this may well give an added advantage to India’s textile and apparel sector versus competitors Vietnam, China, Bangladesh, Pakistan and Indonesia. Key free trade agreements and rising US sourcing from India could lead to monthly double-digit growth in exports in 2026–27, according to industry sources.

The US development comes at a time when the Budget on Sunday lined up several measures to boost the expected demand uptick in the sector.

“We agreed to a trade deal between the United States and India, whereby the United States will charge a reduced reciprocal tariff, lowering it from 25 per cent to 18 per cent,” US President Donald Trump said in a social media post following a call with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“Big thanks to President Trump on behalf of the 1.4 billion people of India for this wonderful announcement,” Modi responded on X.

“From FY27, the sector can see month-on-month double-digit growth in apparel and home textile exports, lifting the monthly apparel export run rate to $1.5 billion to $1.6 billion from the current $1.27 billion,” said Prabhu Dhamodharan, convenor, Indian Texpreneurs Federation (ITF).