India’s path to becoming America’s strategic apparel base is open again, but the runway is short and conditional. TexPro data shows US apparel imports from India closed **** at $*.*** billion (+*.**% YoY), a headline that masks a violent two-half story. H* **** surged on tariff front-loading ($*.*** billion); H* collapsed **.* per cent to $*.*** billion as the cumulative US tariff on Indian apparel hit ** per cent between August **, **** and February *, ****.

The February *, **** US-India interim framework cut the reciprocal rate to ** per cent, putting India below Vietnam (**%), Bangladesh (**%) and Indonesia (**%) for the first time. Then on February **, ****, the US Supreme Court struck down the IEEPA tariffs, which were replaced with a flat ** per cent Section *** surcharge that expires on July **, ****. The window is real. It is also closing fast.

The US apparel sector just got a court victory that feels less like relief and more like a warning. On May *, the Court of International Trade ruled President Trump’s ** per cent Section *** global import surcharge unlawful, but the block was narrow: relief applies to two importers and Washington state, not every apparel entry moving through US ports. The duty may be wounded; sourcing risk is not.

The larger signal is what comes next. After the Supreme Court struck down the administration’s IEEPA tariff authority in February, the White House moved to Section *** as a ***-day bridge ending July **, unless Congress extends it. Now The Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) is building a more targeted Section *** record on ‘structural excess capacity’ across ** economies. For apparel, this is not a side issue. It is the sourcing map.

Future Vietnam-Sri Lanka cooperation should follow an efficient and focused approach aimed at delivering concrete results, and both sides should prioritise logistics connectivity and cargo trans-shipment cooperation, an area that matches Sri Lanka’s advantages and Vietnam’s demand to expand its economic reach into the Indian Ocean, Vietnamese President To Lam recently said.

He was addressing the Vietnam-Sri Lanka Trade, Investment and Tourism Cooperation Forum in Colombo.

Vietnam and Sri Lanka should prioritise logistics connectivity and cargo trans-shipment cooperation, an area that matches Sri Lanka’s advantages and Vietnam’s demand to expand its reach into the Indian Ocean, Vietnamese President To Lam has said.
He also called for stronger cooperation in highly complementary sectors like textiles and garments which could be implemented quickly and produce clear results.

He also called for stronger cooperation in highly complementary sectors like agriculture, food processing, textiles and garments, intermediary trade and services, which could be implemented quickly and produce clear results, according to a Vietnamese media outlet.

The forum was jointly organised by the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) and the Sri Lanka Export Development Board.

At the forum, Vietnam Airlines announced the launch of a direct air route between Ho Chi Minh City and Colombo. Vietjet also announced a direct route linking Ho Chi Minh City and Colombo, marking the first direct air connection between Vietnam and Sri Lanka. The Ho Chi Minh City-Colombo route is expected to launch in August 2026 with four round-trip flights per week.

Sri Lankan Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya stressed the forum demonstrated the two countries’ shared ambition to raise bilateral trade to $1 billion by 2030, with a focus on diversifying products.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)