Reacting to US President Donald Trump's announcement of a 25 per cent tariff and a penalty on Indian imports, Sudhir Sekhri, Chairman, Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC), stated, though higher than anticipated, the impact of the new tariffs will be mitigated with the signing of the interim Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) between India and the US between October and December 2025.

Sekri noted, the ‘penalty’ is a ‘grey area’ and hoped the Indian government would negotiate a resolution with the US before August 1, 2025.

Accounting for a 33 per cent share of India's total garment exports in 2024, The US is a critical market for India's ready-made garment (RMG) exports. India's market share in US garment imports has steadily increased from 4.5 per cent in 2020 to 5.8 per cent in 2024, placing it as the fourth-largest RMG exporter to the U.S.

Globally, China remains the top exporter to the US, holding a 21.9 per cent market share in 2024, a decrease from 27.4 per cent in 2020. Together, China, Vietnam, and Bangladesh supplied 49 per cent of all U.S. apparel imports in 2024.

The top three apparel products exported by India to the US include cotton T-shirts making up for 9.71 per cent of India's total RMG exports to the US; women's or girls' cotton dresses accounting for 6.52 per cent of exports and babies’ cotton garments representing 5.46 per cent of exports.

These three products hold a significant share of the total US imports for their respective categories, with shares of 10 per cent, 36 per cent, and 20 per cent respectively.