The textile industry — India’s second-largest employment provider with over 110 million workers, primarily from rural areas and women — is currently grappling with an abnormal 50% tariff on Indian goods imposed by the US. Since the US accounts for nearly 28% of India’s total textile exports, many capital-intensive textile units heavily dependent on this market are under severe strain. The industry has been urging the government for a bailout package similar to the Covid-era relief and for structural GST reforms to improve global competitiveness and boost both domestic and export growth. In this context, an interaction meeting of all Textile Associations and Export Promotion Councils was held on September 2, 2025, in Chennai with Union Finance Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman, in the presence of Mr. Nainar Nagendran, BJP Tamil Nadu State President, and Smt. Vanathi Srinivasan, MLA, Coimbatore (South). During the meeting, a common memorandum was submitted highlighting the following key demands:

• Two-year moratorium on repayment of principal amount

• 30% collateral-free loan under ECLGS with 5% interest subvention, similar to Covid relief for MSMEs and large units

• Extend RoDTEP beyond September 30, 2025, and RoSCTL beyond March 31, 2026
• Enhance value caps for duty drawback, RoDTEP, and RoSCTL
• Increase RoDTEP rates by 2–3% for all products
• Reintroduce the Focus Market Incentive Scheme and offer 20% of FOB value for all exports to the US (effective August 27, 2025) as transferable Duty Credit Scrip

• Reintroduce Interest Equalisation Scheme for pre- and post-shipment export credit with 5% benefit across all export categories

• Correct the inverted duty structure in the MMF value chain
• Slot the entire MMF value chain under a 5% GST slab similar to cotton

• Refund accumulated GST credit on capital goods to ease liquidity

• Reduce margin money from 25% to 10%
• Extend credit limit from three months to nine months
• Provide 5% interest subvention on cotton procured during peak season (December–March) In a press statement, Dr. S K Sundaraman, Chairman of The Southern India Mills’ Association (SIMA), thanked Union Finance Minister Smt. Nirmala Sitharaman for conducting the meeting and appreciating the unprecedented challenges posed by the US tariffs. Dr. Sundaraman said,

  “The Hon’ble Minister has indicated bringing a major revamp in GST rates and systems and is likely to announce a historic reform in the tax structure to enable ease of doing business and enhance global competitiveness.” He added that the government is likely to soon announce a relief package to ease liquidity issues, safeguard export commitments, and open opportunities in alternate markets. The planned GST restructuring and policy measures would significantly boost domestic consumption. On behalf of the textile industry, Dr. Sundaraman expressed deep gratitude to Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi for enabling the sector to turn challenges into opportunities and achieve sustainable growth.