CITI Hails India-EU FTA As Major Boost For Textile & Apparel Sector
The Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) has welcomed the conclusion of negotiations on the free trade agreement (FTA) between India and the European Union, calling it a historic development that could significantly accelerate the country’s textile and apparel exports in the coming years.
CITI Chairman Ashwin Chandran said the agreement comes at a critical time for the industry, which has been facing pressure due to steep US tariffs imposed on Indian goods since August 2025. The proposed FTA, he noted, provides a huge confidence boost by opening fresh possibilities for market access across the 27-nation European bloc.
“Coming at a time when India’s textile and apparel sector continues to be weighed down by the steep US tariff, the announcement on the FTA with the EU comes as a huge confidence boost since it creates possibilities for increased market access and more business to flow in,” Chandran stated.
The CITI Chairman also expressed gratitude to Indian leadership and senior EU officials for steering what he described as the mother of all deals to fruition. The EU is currently India’s second-largest market for textile and apparel exports after the United States.
Once implemented, the agreement is expected to remove import duty hurdles for Indian textile and apparel products entering the European Union, a move CITI says will make India more competitive against Vietnam and Bangladesh, who currently enjoy tariff advantages in the EU market.
“By removing the duty hurdle, the India-EU FTA will make our textile and apparel products more competitive in the European Union, which should potentially translate into our exporters being able to increase their revenues from the EU,” Chandran said.
However, he urged exporters to strengthen their innovation and sustainability credentials to maximize gains, stressing that FTAs “open doors” but do not automatically guarantee business.
The announcement adds to India’s expanding trade architecture. In December 2025, India signed the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with Oman and concluded FTA negotiations with New Zealand the same month. Earlier, in July 2025, India signed the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) with the United Kingdom.
Meanwhile, negotiations with the United States on a Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) are ongoing. The 50% US tariff on Indian goods, effective from August 27, 2025, has hit Indian textile and apparel companies hard, raising concerns about job losses across the sector.
The US remains India’s largest market for textile and apparel exports, accounting for nearly 28% of total export revenues. In FY 2024-25, India shipped roughly US$ 11 billion worth of textile and apparel goods to the US. Total exports from the sector stood close to US$ 38 billion in FY25.
CITI believes the India-EU FTA could play a catalytic role in helping the country achieve its long-term target of US$ 100 billion in textile and apparel exports by 2030. The industry now awaits the early operationalization of the agreement to unlock market opportunities and support export-led growth.
