Panipat textile exporters jittery as US tariff looms

The reciprocal 26 per cent tariff announced by US President Donald Trump on India has shaken the exporters here. Turkey and Egypt are now likely to emerge as major competitors in textile products.

The ‘Textile City’ has a turnover of around Rs 20,000 crore from exports. Of this, it exports products, especially carpets and mats, worth Rs 10,000 crore annually to the US alone.

Vinod Dhamija, Chairman, Haryana Chamber of Commerce and Industries (HCCI), Panipat Chapter, said Trump’s reciprocal tariff would hit the Panipat industry hard. However, the actual situation would become clear in the coming days, depending on how much tariff had been imposed on the products.

Primarily, Egypt and Turkey were likely to emerge as the biggest competitors in the coming days for textile products, especially bathmats and floor mats, he said.

Raman Chhabra, Yung Exporters’ Society, said the Panipat export industry was already reeling under crisis due to the Russia-Ukraine war, disturbance in the Red Sea, etc., and now, the new tariff announced by Trump had come as a shock.

Since Indian products would get more expensive for US consumers, the sale of products might decline, which would be a huge setback, he said.

Lalit Goyal, Chairman, Handloom Export Promotion Council (HEPC), and president, Panipat Exporters’ Association, said the sentiment was weak in the industry here. Rugs and carpets were considered as luxury items in the US market, and the product cost would rise up to 25 per cent, affecting business adversely, he said.

Turkey and Egypt produced fine quality machine-made bath mats and carpets and would become the biggest competitors for India as they faced a tariff of only 10 per cent, he said.

Overseas buyers also began holding back orders after the announcement of the new tariff structure, Goyal said.

“We will write to the Union Minister for Industries and Commerce and other higher authorities through the HEPC to address our concerns," he added.

Haryana Tribune