US Hikes Indian Textile Tariffs 50%; India Offers Cotton Duty Relief

The Trump administration’s decision to double duties on Indian goods to 50 percent has pushed India’s highly labor-intensive textile sector into renewed stress, even as New Delhi rolled out a temporary relief for cotton imports to blunt the blow. The twin moves—tariffs in the United States and a time-bound duty exemption at home—highlight the fragility of a sector that employs tens of millions and anchors India’s export ambitions, while also underscoring broader questions about how to navigate a volatile international trade environment.

Across textile and garment corridors from Tiruppur in Tamil Nadu to Bhadohi in Uttar Pradesh, industry leaders fear orders will dry up as buyers recalibrate their sourcing. In Bhadohi, carpet makers describe how the sudden tariff jump from 25 percent to 50 percent makes existing business unsustainable, threatening livelihoods for thousands of workers. “We were shocked with the 25 percent tariff, and thinking about how to meet this problem, how to face this, but now it’s 50 percent, so it became impossible,” said Ishtiaq Ahmad Khan, a fourth-generation carpet producer. The sector’s exposure is vast: carpets are primarily exported to the United...