Following recent political changes in the country, India’s RMG exporters are urging the Central Government to negotiate a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the United States,

A Sakthivel, Head-Apparel Export Promotion Council (Southern Region) and Chairperson, Apparel Made-ups and Home Furnishing Sector Skill Council (AMHSCC), says, by leveraging the current favorable positive relationship between the US President-elect Donald Trump and the Indian government, exporters aim to secure a favorable trade deal.

Emphaisisng on the significance of the US market for India’s RMG exports, Sakthivel notes, despite their exports reaching $2,568 million between Apr-Sep’2024, Indian exporters do not have an FTA with the United States. A free-trade agreement would help facilitate these exports, he adds.

From Apri-Oct’24, India’s total RMG exports to the US increased by 7.28 per cent to $468.27 billion from the $436.48 billion during the same period last year. Particularly in Oct’24, India’s total RMG exports to the US rose by 35.06 per cent, from $0.91 billion in October 2023 to $1.23 billion. Cumulative RMG exports from Apr-Oct’24 expanded by 11.6 per cent to $8,732.6 million.

This consistent month-on-month growth highlights the strength of India’s RMG exports, opines Sakthivel. The sector can achieve a further 15 per cent-20 per cent growth by this fiscal-end with exports from Tiruppur' reaching Rs 40,000 crore this year, he adds.

Echoing this sentiment, KM Subramanian, President, Tiruppur Exporters’ Association, adds, with 30 per cent Tiruppur’s knitwear exporters destined for the US, an FTA will allow Indian RMG exporters to better compete with other countries and secure more orders.