The government may prioritise support measures for sectors likely to be severely impacted by the US tariffs, such as textiles, under the export promotion mission, industry sources said on Thursday.
The issues were discussed in the commerce ministry’s consultations with exporters from the textiles and chemicals sectors to assess the impact and explore possible support measures, they added.
They said the ministry is working on the export promotion mission with an outlay of ₹2,250 crore announced in the Budget. The mission is expected to feature components, including easy credit schemes for MSMEs, e-commerce exporters, facilitation of overseas warehousing, and global branding initiatives to tap emerging export opportunities.
“The government is looking at extending support measures under this mission to sectors which would be badly hit by the US tariffs,” they said.
During the consultations, industry associations have urged the central government to provide a range of support, including financial assistance for market diversification and interest subvention.
“Competing manufacturing hubs such as Turkey, Vietnam and Thailand continue to enjoy lower tariffs of 15 per cent, 20 per cent and 19 per cent, respectively, making Indian products relatively less competitive in the US market,” said Kirit Bhansali, chairman of the GJEPC.
The US is the largest market for the gems and jewellery exporters, accounting for over $10 billion in exports, nearly 30 per cent of the industry’s global trade. For cut and polished diamonds, half of India’s exports are US-bound.
GJEPC has urged the government to consider a targeted scheme on the lines of a duty drawback or a reimbursement scheme, covering around 25-50 per cent of the new tariffs imposed on the gems and jewellery exports to the US from August to December 2025.
Marine and seafood
Seafood exporters hope that the government will offer financial assistance as the business is heading for a sharp hit from the US tariffs. The US accounts for 40 per cent of the total Indian seafood exports of ₹60,000 crore. India mainly exports shrimps to the US.
The exporters have urged the government to consider financial support in the form of a soft loan of up to 30 per cent of working capital at an international interest rate to tide them over the cash flow crunch and an interest subvention to ease credit costs, said Rajarshi Banerji, president (Bengal), Seafood Exporters Association of India.
“India is already facing competition from Ecuador, which has only a 15 per cent tariff,” said city-based seafood exporter and MD of Megaa Moda, Yogesh Gupta.
Compound Livestock Feed Manufacturers Association (CLFMA) of India chairman Divya Kumar Gulati said Indian exporters are exploring alternative markets such as the UK, where the India-UK FTA now offers duty-free access for fisheries products.
Apparel exports
Seeking fiscal support, the apparel exporters’ body AEPC on Thursday said the doubling of tariffs to 50 per cent by the Trump administration on Indian goods will severely affect the micro and medium exporters dependent on the American market. There is no way the industry can absorb this,” said AEPC chairman Sudhir Sekhri.
America accounted for 33 per cent of India’s total garment exports in 2024. In 2024-25, India’s exports to the US from this sector include apparel-knitted ($2.7 billion), apparel-woven ($2.7 billion), and textiles, made-ups ($3 billion). Auto components The US tariff underscores the importance of enhancing the sector’s competitiveness and exploring new and diversified markets, industry body ACMA said on Thursday.
EY India’s Saurabh Agarwal said: “We need to quickly adjust our plans to protect our strong export growth, especially since the US was one of our biggest markets for auto parts in FY2025.” To lessen this impact, Indian manufacturers should actively look into setting up some production closer to the US, he added.