Textile stocks in India traded lower on Thursday after the additional 25% US tariffs on Indian imports took effect, hitting the export-oriented sectors the most.
KPR Mill, Trident, Vardhman Textiles, Arvind, Welspun Living, Gokaldas Exports, Pearl Global Industries, declined up to 3% each following the development.
The fresh tariffs come after US President Donald Trump signed an executive order imposing an additional 25% duty on Indian imports, effectively raising the total levy to 50% on several categories, including textiles and apparel, with effect from August 27.
The textile sector is among the hardest hit, with duties on knitted apparel reaching 63.9% and woven apparel at 60.3%. Industry experts warn that the steep tariffs could slash India’s textile and apparel exports to the US by as much as 40–50%, severely affecting the country’s $10.3 billion export market.
The US is India’s largest export destination for textiles, with India ranking as the third-largest supplier after China and Vietnam. However, the higher tariff burden threatens to erode India’s competitiveness. By comparison, duties on products from China, Vietnam, Indonesia and Japan stand significantly lower at 30%, 20%, 19% and 15%, respectively.
Analysts caution that this disparity could divert orders to rival Asian exporters, further intensifying pressure on India’s textile industry.
According to estimates by the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO), nearly 55% of India’s shipments to the US will be directly impacted, placing domestic exporters at a sharp competitive disadvantage.
Anuj Gupta, Director, Ya Wealth believes that the fall in textile stocks is an opportunity for bottom fishing as the Indian government is pushing its textile exports to other countries, and talks are going on with 40 countries, including Japan, the UK, South Korea, Brazil, etc.
“The market is also expecting a deferral in Trump’s 50% tariffs on India, as this is expected to hit the US GDP by 50 bps, almost double the hit that the Indian GDP will dip due to this Trump administration move,” said Gupta.
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