India Seeks New Markets To Counter US Tariff
India is set to launch dedicated outreach programmes across 40 countries, including the UK, Japan, South Korea, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Canada, Mexico, Russia, and Australia, in a bid to diversify textile exports and reduce reliance on the US market, a senior official said on Wednesday.
The move comes after the United States imposed a steep 50% tariff on Indian imports, effective August 27, impacting shipments worth over US$ 48 billion. Key sectors hit include textiles and clothing, gems and jewellery, shrimp, leather and footwear, animal products, chemicals, and machinery.
“These 40 markets collectively account for over US$ 590 billion in textile and apparel imports, but India’s share stands at only 5–6%. A targeted approach will position India as a reliable supplier of sustainable and innovative textile products,” the official said.
The outreach programmes will be spearheaded by Export Promotion Councils (EPCs) and Indian missions abroad, focusing on market mapping, demand-based product promotion, and linking clusters such as Surat, Panipat, Tirupur, and Bhadohi to international buyers. EPCs will also drive India’s participation in trade fairs, exhibitions, and buyer-seller meets under a unified “Brand India” initiative.
The official added that leveraging free trade agreements (FTAs) with geographies such as the UK and EFTA nations would play a critical role in making Indian exports more competitive.
Highlighting the impact of the US tariff, Mithileshwar Thakur, Secretary General, Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC), said the apparel sector, with US$ 10.3 billion in exports, is among the worst affected.
“The industry was prepared for the earlier 25% tariff but the additional 25% has effectively priced Indian apparel out of the US market, creating a 30–31% disadvantage compared to competitors like Bangladesh, Vietnam, and Sri Lanka,” Thakur noted.
He stressed that urgent fiscal support from the government is needed to sustain exporters until trade relations with the US are renegotiated. “It is extremely difficult to regain lost ground once buyers shift to other sourcing destinations,” he cautioned.
Meanwhile, industry bodies are accelerating market diversification efforts, seeking to capitalise on upcoming trade deals with the UK and EFTA countries to cushion the blow and maintain India’s export momentum.
