The American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) recently urged the International Trade Commission (ITC) not to revoke the permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) status granted to China as the move would result in higher tariffs borne by US companies.

“These significant tariff increases cannot be absorbed by US brands and retailers, as margins are already tight and leave little room to offset such dramatic cost increases. As a result, these added costs would be passed on to consumers, hurting the affordability of clothes and shoes for American families,” Beth Hughes, AAFA vice president for trade and customs policy, wrote in a letter to the ITC.

US trade body AAFA has urged the International Trade Commission not to revoke the permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) status granted to China as that would result in higher tariffs borne by US companies.
Higher tariffs on Chinese imports would constrain US firms’ ability to invest in innovation, expand operations and support US job growth, and would risk closing off commercial opportunities in China.

“At the same time, higher tariffs on Chinese imports would constrain US companies’ ability to invest in innovation, expand operations and support American job growth,’ he noted.

AAFA in its letter said that US manufacturers rely on Chinese raw materials and inputs to produce finished goods under ‘Made in USA’ initiatives. Certain textiles are only available from China at the scale required, with no viable alternatives available now.

China remains the largest supplier for the US apparel, footwear and travel goods industry, accounting for 27.26 per cent of apparel imports, 47.83 per cent of footwear imports and 36.62 per cent of travel goods imports in 2025.

“Revoking China PNTR would result in higher tariffs borne by US companies significantly raising costs, reducing Americans’ ability to purchase affordable clothing, footwear and travel goods, while straining limited US and global manufacturing capacity that cannot readily replace these imports and provoking potential retaliatory measures that could further harm US companies,” the letter read.

Many small businesses and employers may not be in a position to absorb those costs, it observed.

While these additionally costs might ultimately be manageable—by being passed along over time or addressed through other mitigation measures, including alternative sourcing—those measures take time and also involve costs, it said.

An entire class of companies would be eliminated by the existential nature of such high tariff costs.

China’s pattern of retaliation suggests that any US move to revoke PNTR would likely be met with swift and proportional countermeasures, the letter noted.

As China a major market for American goods, the loss of PNTR would not only raise prices and disrupt supply chains, but also risk closing off commercial opportunities in China, it added.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)

India’s textile exports, including handicrafts, rose 2.1 per cent year-on-year to ₹3,16,334.9 crore ($33.01 billion) in FY 2025-26 from ₹3,09,859.3 crore in FY 2024-25, reflecting steady global demand and sector competitiveness, according to the Ministry of Textiles.

Ready-made garments remained the largest contributor, rising 2.9 per cent from ₹1,35,427.6 crore to ₹1,39,349.6 crore. Cotton yarn, fabrics, made ups and handloom products recorded marginal growth of 0.4 per cent, increasing from ₹1,02,002.8 crore to ₹1,02,399.7 crore. Man-made yarn, fabrics and made ups posted a stronger rise of 3.6 per cent, reaching ₹42,687.8 crore from ₹41,196.0 crore.

India’s textile exports grew 2.1 per cent to ₹3.16 lakh crore in FY26, led by garments and man-made textiles.
Growth across 120+ markets and policy support through export schemes and free trade agreements boosted performance.
Improved market access and diversification are expected to strengthen exports, investment and global value chain integration.

Among value-added segments, handicrafts excluding handmade carpets recorded the highest growth of 6.1 per cent, increasing from ₹14,945.5 crore to ₹15,855.1 crore.

Exports expanded across more than 120 destinations between April 2025 and February 2026, indicating broad-based geographical growth. Notable gains were seen in the United Arab Emirates (22.3 per cent), United Kingdom (7.8 per cent), Germany (9.9 per cent), Spain (15.5 per cent), Japan (20.6 per cent), Egypt (38.3 per cent), Nigeria (21.4 per cent), Senegal (54.4 per cent) and Sudan (205.6 per cent).

Government support through schemes like RoSCTL (Rebate of State and Central Taxes and Levies) and RoDTEP (Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products) also helped exporters.

India’s free trade agreements (FTAs) also progressed significantly during FY 2025-26.

The India-UK Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement was signed in July 2025, followed by the India-Trade and Economic Partnership Agreement entering into force on October 1, 2025, the India-Oman Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement in December 2025, the India-New Zealand FTA announcement on December 22, 2025, and the India-EU FTA conclusion on January 27, 2026.

These developments are expected to enhance preferential market access, reduce tariff barriers, support supply-chain integration, and create new opportunities for textiles, apparel, handicrafts and technical textiles, strengthening exports, investment, technology partnerships and India’s integration into global value chains.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (CG)

India’s textile and apparel exports continued to see a significant decline in March after a fall in February 2026 due to geopolitical disturbances amid the US-Israel–Iran conflict. Apparel exports fell by 18.99 per cent, while textile exports declined by 9.91 per cent, resulting in an overall drop of 14.02 per cent  year on year (YoY) in textile and apparel exports during the month. During the previous fiscal 2025-26 (April-March) shipment of textile and apparel dropped 2.21 per cent.

In March 2026, textile and apparel exports dipped to $2.912 billion from $3.387 billion in the same month of the last year. According to an analysis by the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI), textile exports slipped to $1.671 billion in March, while apparel exports declined to $1.240 billion.

India’s textile and apparel exports fell sharply in March 2026, declining 14.02 per cent year on year (YoY) to $2.91 billion amid geopolitical disruptions.
Apparels dropped 18.99 per cent and textiles 9.91 per cent.
FY 2025–26 exports slipped 2.21 per cent, with sector share easing to 8.10 per cent.
Cotton imports surged annually, while MMF trends remained relatively stable.

Category-wise, exports of cotton yarn, fabrics, made-ups and handloom products fell 10.26 per cent to $1,003.18 million. Man-made fibre-based exports eased 13.26 per cent to $377.88 million. Carpet exports dropped 11.03 per cent, while handicrafts excluding carpets dipped 11.03 per cent, according to the latest trade data released by the Ministry of Commerce and Industry.

On a cumulative basis, India’s textile and apparel exports also fell during the April 2025- March 2026 period. Textile and apparel exports eased 2.21 per cent YoY to $35.799 billion. Textile exports declined 2.86 per cent to $20.027 billion in the period, while apparel exports eased 1.36 per cent to $15.772 billion. The sector’s share in India’s total merchandise exports slipped to 8.10 per cent, down from 8.36 per cent a year earlier.

Raw cotton and cotton waste imports dipped 30.38 per cent in March to $55.03 million. For April- March, cotton imports were up 54.91 per cent to $1,888.79 million. Imports of textile yarn, fabric and made-ups increased 2.86 per cent to $198.43 million in March 2026, while they increased by 5.12 per cent to $2,601.95 million during April 2025 to March 2026.

Commenting on the trade data, Ashwin Chandran, Chairman of CITI, said, “MMF is aligning with global demand, while cotton textiles face stress amid rising costs and a 54.9 per cent surge in imports, prompting calls to remove import duty. With the removal of US tariff and new FTA opportunities, the industry is optimistic, supported by likely easing of West Asia tensions.”

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KUL)