US tariff uncertainty pushes Indian exporters to more stable markets\nlike Japan<\/p>\n
The impact is being felt across India\u2019s textile industry, which\nemploys around 45 million people, with American buyers withholding\norders or demanding steep discounts.<\/p>\n
NEW DELHI: Doing business with the United States is now nearly\nimpossible, Indian exporters say.<\/p>\n
Lalit Thukral, chairman of the Noida Apparel Export Cluster, who\nrepresents a consortium of garment exporters outside New Delhi, has\nspent decades supplying textiles to what has long been India\u2019s largest\nexport market.<\/p>\n
But a combination of steep tariffs, legal uncertainty and\ngeopolitical tensions has left them struggling to plan ahead.<\/p>\n
For India\u2019s textile sector, the uncertainty stems from multiple\ndevelopments.<\/p>\n
In February, the US Supreme Court struck down President Donald\nTrump\u2019s reciprocal tariffs, just days after Washington and New Delhi had\nagreed on the framework of an interim trade deal.<\/p>\n
This would cap US tariffs on Indian goods at 18 per cent, down from\nbetween 25 per cent and 50 per cent. But Indian officials have since\nindicated that any agreement will only be signed after the US finalises\nits tariff structure.<\/p>\n
Progress has been limited. The two sides have not held substantive\ntalks since the court ruling, and it remains unclear when - or even if -\na deal will materialise.<\/p>\n
Since the ruling, Trump has imposed a new 10 per cent global import\nduty under a separate legal justification, though this will expire in\nJuly.<\/p>\n
WITHHOLDING ORDERS, DEMANDING DISCOUNTS<\/p>\n
For exporters like Thukral, the shifting landscape has made business\nplanning increasingly difficult.<\/p>\n
A US probe into excess industrial capacity from 16 major trading\npartners, including India, has further frayed expectations of a\nrecovery.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were very hopeful that the interim deal will be signed quickly\nand that will ease business pressures. But now with the US involved in\nthe Iran war, we don\u2019t know what that means for trade talks,\u201d he told\nCNA.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are no longer in a position to even plan - it\u2019s impossible.\u201d<\/p>\n
The impact is being felt across India\u2019s textile industry, which\nemploys around 45 million people.<\/p>\n
Manufacturers say US buyers are withholding orders or demanding steep\ndiscounts, while rising raw material and shipping costs - exacerbated by\nthe US-Israel war on Iran - are squeezing already thin margins.<\/p>\n
On factory floors, affected companies are cutting production and, in\nsome cases, laying off workers.<\/p>\n
LOOKING TO JAPAN<\/p>\n
With uncertainty persisting in the US market, exporters are\nincreasingly turning to more predictable ones.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe don\u2019t know what will happen (in the US). Tomorrow, there might be\nnew tariffs again,\u201d said Thukral.<\/p>\n
\u201cNow increasingly, exporters are looking at Japan as a possible\ndestination - it\u2019s a market that takes high quality products. And\nbusiness delegations are travelling to Japan for this,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
India is one of the world\u2019s largest textile and apparel exporters,\nbut its presence in Japan remains limited. Shipments account for less\nthan 1 per cent of Tokyo\u2019s US$30 billion textile import market.<\/p>\n
Still, some companies see opportunity.<\/p>\n
Mukesh Khinchi, general manager for sales and marketing (Far East) at\nBanswara Syntex Limited, said the Japanese market holds immense\npotential for Indian traders if they can meet its requirements.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s not an easy market to get into because the quality standards\nare quite high vis-a-vis the European or the American market. It took us\nalmost two years to get our initial breakthroughs,\u201d he noted.<\/p>\n
Khinchi\u2019s company has been exporting to Japan since 2016, adapting\nits products to local preferences and expectations.<\/p>\n
\u201cJapan is a more product-conscious market where, along with the price\nand other things, you need to offer a solution - and you need to make a\nproduct which is more durable and more long-lasting with higher\nperformance,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
New Delhi already has an economic partnership agreement with Tokyo,\nwhich exporters say makes it easier to operate there.<\/p>\n
However, analysts caution that demand from Japan is unlikely to match\nthe scale of the US market, underscoring the need for Indian exporters\nto diversify beyond a single dominant market.<\/p>\n
The government has also been encouraging this shift, having recently\nsigned trade deals with the European Union and Australia.<\/p>\n
Some experts say more needs to be done to strengthen India\u2019s global\ncompetitiveness.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe haven\u2019t been able to create something like a \u2018wow\u2019 factor for\nIndian textiles and apparels. And I think that is the way we should move\nforward,\u201d said Arpita Mukherjee, a professor at the Indian Council for\nResearch on International Economic Relations.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat (textile) ministry needs to move forward with that target, with\na vision plan and with an action document to build brand India.\u201d<\/p>", "url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/us-tariff-uncertainty-pushes-indian-exporters-to-more-stable-markets-like-japan-1775207361", "image": "" }, "sponsor": "Okusi Associates", "sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com" }