The Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) has urged the Indian government to engage with Washington, warning that additional US tariffs could hurt the competitiveness of Indian textile and apparel exports in the US market.
The concern follows the signing of the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026, which gives the US administration the power to impose tariffs of up to 100 per cent on countries buying Russian oil and gas. The US is India's largest single market for textile and apparel exports, leaving the sector particularly exposed to any increase in duties.
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Industry Seeks Government Action
CITI Chairman Ashwin Chandran said additional tariffs would be difficult for India's largely MSME-driven textile industry to absorb, particularly amid continuing economic and supply-chain pressures linked to turmoil in West Asia.
"The FTAs offer a lot of potential, but the gains from those are not automatic for exporters and will take time to materialise," Chandran said, reported the Economic Times.
The industry body has called for a fair, balanced and predictable India-US trade agreement to help Indian exporters remain competitive in the American market.
CITI said recently negotiated free trade agreements could provide opportunities to diversify export destinations, but their benefits would take time to materialise and would not immediately compensate for any disruption in the US market.
Export Performance
India's latest export data presents a mixed picture for the textile and apparel sector. Textile and apparel exports rose 6.39 per cent year-on-year in August 2026 in US-dollar terms, with textile exports increasing 13.03 per cent while apparel exports fell 2.74 per cent, The Economic Times reported.
Between April and August 2026, textile exports grew 6.94 per cent, but apparel exports declined 9.10 per cent. As a result, combined textile and apparel exports fell marginally by 0.24 per cent year-on-year.
Focus on US-India Cooperation
CITI said stronger India-US cooperation could create opportunities in technology, supply-chain resilience and greater integration across value chains.
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It stressed that a predictable bilateral trade framework would help the sector manage external risks and strengthen its long-term competitiveness as Indian exporters face the prospect of higher costs and reduced competitiveness in a key overseas market.
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