Textile exporters seek term loan moratorium, duty waiver on cotton imports
Textile exporters have urged the government to remove the 11 per cent import duty on cotton to sustain exports amid the growing uncertainty over the 25 per cent import duty levied by the US.
The demand from the US has already slowed down and is expected to come down by 10-15 per cent in this fiscal.
In a meeting held between the Textile Export Promotion Councils (EPCs) and Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce and Industry, the industry had raised issues facing the textile and apparel export sector, especially in view of fresh 25 per cent reciprocal tariff imposed by the United States.
Siddhartha Rajagopal, Executive Director, the Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council said the industry had expressed deep concern over the potential adverse impact of the reciprocal tariff on textile and clothing exports and stressed on the urgent need for financial support measures and relief.
The key issues raised during the discussion included the demand for a two-year moratorium on term loans, the revival of the Interest Equalisation Scheme, and a five-year extension of Rebate of State and Central Taxes and Levies and Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products benefits.
Input-output norms
The exporters also requested that the import duty of 11 per cent on cotton should be removed so that raw materials are made available at international prices, he said. The industry also sought the easing of the input-output norms under the Advance Authorisation scheme.
The Minister suggested that government was ready to help the exporters to tide over the high duty by reducing manufacturing and transaction costs including electricity and logistics costs, rationalising duties, labour reforms, refunding taxes, addressing banking and credit issues and issues in GST to improve competitiveness and mitigate loss of employment, he said.
Apparel exporters expect the uncertainty kicked off by the punitive US import duty will be resolved in the next 2-3 months as the bilateral trade talks still continue.
Premal Udani, Managing Director, Kaytee Corporation, one of the largest apparel exporters said even the buyers in the US who have placed orders with India do not know how to deal with the current development as there are a lot of pending orders for the forthcoming holiday and festival season including Christmas.
“The Indian government has been very receptive in these challenging times and willing to support the industry which has been the largest employers after agriculture,” he said.
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