About ₹4,000 crore worth of garments and made ups that are made in Tiruppur and Karur in Tamil Nadu and exported to the U.S. every year are likely to face challenges because of the recent tariff announced by the U.S. President Donald Trump.K.M. Subramanian, president of the Tiruppur Exporters’ Association, said about 30% of garments (worth about ₹ 2,000 crore) exported from Tiruppur annually go to the U.S. Of these, 10% are basic products that face stiff competition from other countries. “Exporters who supply to multiple markets will be able to manage. If they are supplying only to the U.S. they will face problems,” he said.Buyers in the U.S. have, in the last few months, visited Tiruppur and placed orders with the manufacturers here after inspecting the factories and capabilities. The exporters have also submitted details of their green and social initiatives. “It will be difficult for the buyers to shift to another country immediately. We hope that the issue with the U.S. will be resolved and the duties reduced soon,” he said.The exporters normally start shipping for the Christmas by the last week of August or first week of September. The exporters are hoping for a reduction in tariff by then. However, they expect the buyers to have tough negotiations with the suppliers here. “The exporters currently work on 5% to 10% margin, depending on the brand they supply to,” Mr. Subramanian added.The Karur Textile Manufacturer Exporters’ Association president P. Gopalakrishnan said Karur supplies ₹2,000 crore worth home textiles (table spreads, kitchen linen, and living room textiles) to the U.S. annually and of this, ₹750 crore worth products are sent for the holiday season. “The U.S. market is slow for about a year and a half now. Several retailers have shut shop. Though there is no competition now for the Karur products, the Chinese make a lot of kitchen linen with manmade fibre. Karur does not have the capability to match the Chinese scale or product range,” he said.The wholesalers and dealers in the U.S. were hoping that India will get lower rates. They all want to shift from China. The current rates have come as a shock. “The U.S. market will be challenging for Karur,” he said.While the manufacturers and exporters are trying to venture into new products and markets, the Central government should restore the interest subvention scheme and look at financial support to the exporters, he added.The Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) said the government facilitating availability of raw material at internationally competitive prices will prove a valuable support to the textile sector.During January-May 2025, the U.S. imports of textile and apparel from India were valued at $ 4.59 billion.The new U.S. rate for Bangladesh is 20%, 19 % each for Indonesia and Cambodia and 20 % for Vietnam. Currently, China is the biggest exporter of textiles and apparel items to the U.S., followed by Vietnam, India, and Bangladesh.Rakesh Mehra, chairman of the CITI said, “The latest U.S. tariff announcement following which the tariff rates have been substantially reduced for many countries, including Bangladesh, against whom we compete for a larger share of the U.S. market will compound the difficulties for India’s textile and apparel exporters as we will be handicapped by a severe duty disadvantage.”Published - August 01, 2025 08:56 pm IST