India is poised to secure textile trade benefits from the United States on lines similar to those granted to Bangladesh, Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal said.
Under the arrangement, Indian garment exporters could gain zero-tariff access to the US market for clothes made using American cotton once the deal is formalised. Goyal clarified that the India-US interim trade deal includes provisions for duty benefits when cotton yarn is imported from the US, even though the joint statement and White House factsheet did not explicitly mention it.
He also rebutted claims by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi that Bangladesh had received better treatment, saying, “Just as Bangladesh has a facility where raw material from the US can be processed and exported at zero reciprocal tariff, India will receive the same advantage.”
The minister added that the “fine print” of the agreement will become clearer once the interim framework is finalised. Last week, US President Donald Trump announced the deal, which cuts reciprocal tariffs on Indian goods from 25 per cent to 18 per cent and removes the 25 per cent punitive duty on India’s Russian oil imports.
While some farmers expressed concerns over potential concessions in agriculture, Goyal assured that Indian exporters would benefit across multiple markets, including the US, EU, UK, Switzerland, Norway, and Australia. “The Rs 5 lakh crore we export today could rise to Rs 10 lakh crore,” he said, adding that misinformation from Rahul Gandhi about the deal undermines farmers, fishermen, MSME workers, and Vishwakarmas.
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