CITI flags potential US tariffs as a fresh risk to India’s textile and apparel exports
The industry body says additional US tariffs could disproportionately hit India’s MSME-led textile and apparel exporters, with the US their largest market. While textile exports rose in August, apparel exports declined, reinforcing calls for urgent India-US trade engagement.
What happened
Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) · CITI warned that potential additional US tariffs could severely hurt India’s MSME-heavy textile and apparel
Key facts
- India's textile and apparel exports rose 6.39% year-on-year in August 2026
- Textile exports rose 13.03% in August 2026
- Apparel exports declined 2.74% in August 2026
- April-August 2026 textile exports grew 6.94%
- April-August 2026 apparel exports fell 9.10%
- Cumulative textile and apparel exports were down 0.24% year-on-year
Why this matters
Strategic buyers should assess acquisitions, sourcing partnerships, or regional manufacturing options that reduce US tariff dependence while India-US trade negotiations remain unresolved.
What to watch
- Formal US tariff announcements, effective dates, product-level HS code coverage, and exemption criteria.
- India-US trade-negotiation language on textiles, apparel, market access, and reciprocal tariff treatment.
- Monthly US apparel import volumes and unit values from India versus Bangladesh, Vietnam, China, Indonesia, and Central America.
- US retailer earnings commentary on apparel inventory, sourcing-cost inflation, vendor negotiations, and planned price increases.
- India monthly export data separating textiles from apparel, plus order-book, utilization, and payment-cycle commentary from exporter associations.
- Rupee movements and freight rates, which could partly offset or intensify tariff-driven landed-cost increases.
- US retailers are likely to audit India exposure by HS category, supplier concentration, and ability to pass through duty costs.
- Buying teams may divert new volume toward Bangladesh, Vietnam, Indonesia, Central America, or domestic/nearshore suppliers while preserving strategic Indian vendors for specialized products.
- Indian exporters may seek price resets, currency hedges, faster-duty-drawback support, and alternative-market demand in the EU, UK, Middle East, and Japan.
- Large Indian manufacturers may gain share from smaller MSMEs as buyers prioritize financial resilience, compliance capability, and multi-country production footprints.
- Retailers could narrow low-margin basics assortments, raise selective prices, or increase private-label sourcing leverage if duties materially lift landed costs.