Export Promotion Mission can weave revival hopes for Indian textiles sector

Indian textile sector is betting big on the setting up of the proposed Export Promotion Mission (EPM) for more reasons than one. Interestingly, the Union Budget for the financial year 2025-26, had promised establishment of EPM at the earliest and making it active.

There is no doubt whatsoever that having the Export Promotion Mission in place, preferably by the end of the year, will act as a huge confidence-booster for India’s exporter fraternity in the wake of the continued uncertainty around the date by which the US tariff issue will be resolved and the potential opportunities opening through the FTAs already signed by India and those on the anvil.

Such a move can also result in addressing the structural challenges, which can help India raise its global share in world trade, including in the textile and apparel sector. That’s what various stakeholders of the Indian textile industry, particularly, the exporters and the apex body of the Indian textile industry- Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) feels.

The whole idea behind setting up of such a Mission, as mentioned by the Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman was that Export Promotion Mission, with sectoral and ministerial targets,

driven jointly by the Ministries of Commerce, MSME, and Finance. will facilitate easy access to export credit, cross-border factoring support, and support to MSMEs to tackle non-tariff measures in overseas markets.

All these will have to be seen in light of the facts that the US Administration has imposed a 50 per cent tariff on Indian goods, effective August 27. Then, in July, India signed the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) with the UK. India is also currently negotiating multiple FTAs, including with the European Union.

It is pertinent to mention here that Textile and Apparel (T&A) seems to be one of the Indian industries that have been hit hard by the recent high tariff imposition by the Trump Administration. Recent imposition of 25 per cent additional ad valorem tariff and 25 per cent penalty (adding up to 50 per cent additional tariff) has significantly undermined the competitiveness of Indian T&A exports to the US.

One must, at this point, try and understand the magnitude and nature of the economic and operational impact in T&A industry and try to identify priority policy interventions needed to mitigate adverse effects and restore competitiveness.

Last year, India was the 6th largest exporter of textile and apparel items worldwide. One also has to keep in mind that India has close to a four per cent share of the global trade in textiles and apparel products. The bulk of India’s textile and apparel sector comprises micro, medium and small enterprises (MSMEs).

If one goes by CITI’s analysis, in September 2025, Indian textile exports slid 10.45 per cent over

the previous year, while apparel exports declined 10.14 per cent during the same period.

Cumulative exports of textiles and apparel items during September 2025 declined 10.34 per cent over September 2024.

Therefore, a lot depends on setting up of the Export Promotion Mission that will address all these issues facing the Indian textile sector, especially the exporters, and help the sector steer its way clear through all these.