India-UK FTA is a boon to Indian textile business

The India-UK FTA is prone to enhance the already rising exports of ready-made garment

At a time when tariff talks with the US are hanging within the steadiness, the Free Commerce Settlement (FTA), signed on Thursday, with the UK is a boon for India’s textile business. The UK is a worldwide vogue hub and the world’s fifth largest garment importer. It imported clothes price practically $20 billion from the world in 2024, however India’s contribution was simply $1.2 billion and within the prime 4 suppliers to the UK.

There’s a big alternative for the business to faucet the UK market. Nonetheless, the important difficulty is how rapidly the business can scale up their manufacturing within the subsequent few months to fulfill the demand, business gamers mentioned.

The settlement is a big plus for Indian textiles, and can pave the way in which for extra FTAs with EU and different nations. It’ll pave the way in which for funding in capability addition, mentioned R. Rajkumar, Managing Director of Tiruppur-based Finest Company (P) Ltd.

A Sakthivel, Hon Chairman, Tiruppur Exporters Affiliation, hailed the settlement as a “historic achievement that can redefine India’s attire export panorama.” With tariff benefits, Indian exporters will now take pleasure in a stronger edge over opponents from Bangladesh, Vietnam and China within the UK market, he mentioned.

That is prone to enhance the already rising exports of ready-made clothes. “We foresee India’s ready-made garment exports to the UK greater than doubling within the close to future — from the present $1.45 billion to $3.25 billion. Of this, knitwear exports alone are anticipated to surge from $0.8 billion to almost $2 billion, accounting for round 70 per cent of complete ready-made garment exports to the UK,” Sakthivel added.

Kulin Lalbhai, Vice-Chairman of Arvind Ltd, wrote on social media that the settlement ensures 99 per cent duty-free entry for India’s exports to the UK, thus boosting the textile sector. Arvind Ltd is already planning to develop the market within the UK, because it feels that the India-UK FTA deal will assist it “re-balance” its dependence on the US market.

Enhance belief

The India-UK FTA can be anticipated to extend the belief and reliability issue by streamlining customs procedures and mutual recognition of requirements, thereby, lowering the compliance burdens for the Indian attire exporters.

With duty-free entry, the attire exports to the UK will witness a renewed thrust and second in coming years. The deal is a sworn statement of a shared dedication of deepening cooperation between the 2 nice nations, Sudhir Sekhri, Chairman, Attire Export Promotion Council, mentioned.

For a lot of the garment merchandise, the responsibility to export to the UK is 9.6 per cent. India primarily exports cotton-based clothes akin to T-shirts, girls’s attire and babywear however lacks competitiveness in winter put on and man-made fibre clothes, he mentioned.

With inputs from Avinash Nair

Printed on July 24, 2025