India’s knitwear hub Tiruppur is facing one of its gravest challenges in decades after the sudden imposition of steep tariffs by former US President Donald Trump on Indian exports. This move has sent shockwaves across the industry, placing nearly 20,000 factories and the livelihood of close to 30 lakh workers in jeopardy. Recognizing the magnitude of the crisis, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin has urgently appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to intervene at the national level to protect not just the local economy but also the broader textile export sector that contributes significantly to India’s foreign trade earnings.
Tiruppur, often hailed as the knitwear capital of India, plays a crucial role in the country’s global trade presence. With 2,500 exporters and over 20,000 independent units, the region is responsible for an astonishing 68 percent of India’s total knitwear exports. According to Kumar Duraisamy, Joint Secretary of the Tiruppur Exporters Association, the district had demonstrated remarkable resilience in recent years. Despite disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the economic slowdown in Western nations, and the continuing Russia-Ukraine war, Tiruppur managed to achieve a turnover of Rs 44,744 crore last year, even recording a 20 percent growth compared to previous years. The city’s knitwear exports cater to major global markets, including the United States, the United Kingdom, European Union nations, Australia, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and several African countries. Of this, the US accounts for 40 percent of its business, Europe contributes another 40 percent, the UK 10 percent, while the remaining 10 percent is distributed across other regions.
However, the newly imposed tariffs have created an unprecedented crisis for exporters, especially those dependent entirely on American buyers. Factories specializing in core products such as undergarments, baby suits, and sleepwear are struggling to cope with razor-thin profit margins that leave no room for absorbing additional costs. Buyers have already instructed factories to complete shipments of goods that are ready before the deadline of August 27, but they have also insisted that exporters absorb part of the tariff burden. Many exporters reluctantly agreed to this arrangement, but when a further 25 percent tariff hike was announced specifically for India, the shock proved too severe. Exporters have reported that buyers are halting fresh orders and explicitly instructing against shipments beyond August 27, throwing the future of thousands of factories into deep uncertainty.
In light of this looming disaster, Tamil Nadu’s Chief Minister MK Stalin has stepped in to highlight the disproportionate impact of these tariffs on his state. In a detailed letter addressed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Stalin pointed out that while the United States accounted for 20 percent of India’s total goods exports worth $433.6 billion in the last financial year, Tamil Nadu alone exported goods worth $52.1 billion, of which a staggering 31 percent was dependent on the US market. This makes Tamil Nadu far more vulnerable compared to other Indian states, with the textile and knitwear sectors bearing the brunt of the impact.
Stalin further emphasized that Tamil Nadu contributes nearly 28 percent of India’s total textile exports and employs about 75 lakh people in the textile sector alone. With the US tariff first raised by 25 percent and a potential increase to 50 percent being discussed, nearly 30 lakh jobs are hanging in the balance. The Chief Minister underscored that beyond short-term relief, there is a pressing need to address long-standing structural issues that have undermined India’s export competitiveness, such as high input costs, logistics bottlenecks, and a lack of adequate policy support. He warned that without immediate intervention at the highest level, not only will Tiruppur’s knitwear industry face irreversible damage, but the ripple effects will destabilize Tamil Nadu’s economy and the national textile export sector as a whole.
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