The Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) has raised concerns over the potential impact on India’s textile and apparel exports following the signing of the Lindsey O. Graham Sanctioning Russia and Iran Act of 2026 by the US President.
According to the industry body, additional tariffs that may be imposed under the Act could put further pressure on India’s textile and apparel sector, which is largely dominated by MSMEs. The US is the largest market for India’s textile and apparel exporters.
“Any additional tariffs under this Act will be very difficult to absorb for the MSME-dominated Indian textile and apparel sector already under stress due to several factors, including the continuing turmoil in West Asia. It will severely impact our ability to sell in the United States, our most significant market by a distance,” said CITI Chairman Ashwin Chandran.
Chandran urged the Government of India to engage with the US to ensure Indian exporters are not disadvantaged by any additional tariffs.
He noted that “we eagerly look forward to the Government of India engaging more closely with the United States to ensure that Indian exporters are not disadvantaged and rendered completely uncompetitive in the world’s No. 1 economy.”
CITI said a fair and balanced bilateral trade agreement (BTA) between India and the US is an urgent requirement. India and the US have been negotiating the agreement for some time.
Chandran further noted that while India’s recently signed free trade agreements (FTAs) could help exporters access new markets, they cannot replace the importance of the US market for the textile and apparel sector.
“The FTAs offer a lot of potential, but the gains from those are not automatic for exporters and will take time to materialise,” he added.
The India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) came into effect on July 15, 2026, while the India-EU FTA is expected to become operational next year.
India’s overall textile and apparel exports increased 6.39% year-on-year in August 2026 in US dollar terms. Textile exports rose 13.03%, while apparel exports declined 2.74%.
During April-August 2026, textile exports increased 6.94%, while apparel exports declined 9.10%. As a result, cumulative textile and apparel exports were marginally lower by 0.24% year-on-year.
Stronger India-US trade ties could support technology partnerships, supply-chain resilience and long-term competitiveness in the textile and apparel sectors in both countries, CITI added.
