Gamechanger India–EU FTA a huge confidence boost for textile & apparel sector: CITI
India’s total textile and apparel exports stood close to $38 billion in FY25.
The Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) warmly welcomes the conclusion of negotiations on the “historic” free trade agreement (FTA) between India and the European Union for the catalytic role the deal can play in making it possible for India to achieve textile and apparel exports worth $100 billion by 2030 and looks forward to an early implementation of the FTA.
“Coming at a time when India’s textile and apparel sector continues to be weighed down by the steep US tariff, the announcement on the FTA with the EU comes as a huge confidence boost since it creates possibilities for increased market access and more business to flow in for India’s textile and apparel exporters from the 27-nation bloc,” Ashwin Chandran, Chairman, CITI, said.
“CITI would like to convey its sincere gratitude to the Prime Minister, the Commerce Minister, European Commission President Ms Ursula von der Leyen, European Council President Mr António Costa, and all other senior officials in India and the EU for making this ‘mother of all deals’ possible,” Chandran added.
Currently, the European Union is the 2nd biggest market for India’s textile and apparel exports, after the United States.
Chandran said that once operational, the India-EU FTA will level the playing field for local textile and apparel exporters with their peers from Vietnam and Bangladesh, against whom they face a tariff disadvantage currently in the European Union.
“By removing the duty hurdle, the India-EU FTA will make our textile and apparel products more competitive in the European Union, which should potentially translate into our exporters being able to increase their revenues from the EU in the time to come,” he pointed out.
However, Chandran cautioned that India’s textile and apparel exporters must double down on innovation and sustainability efforts to further improve the distinctness and appeal of their products to take maximum advantage of the India-EU FTA. “Doing so will help our exporters move up the value chain and have better revenue earnings. Sight must not be lost of the fact that while FTAs open doors, they don’t automatically guarantee more business for individual companies,” the CITI Chairman said.
In December 2025, India signed the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with Oman. The same month, India also concluded FTA negotiations with New Zealand. In July 2025, India signed the Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) with the United Kingdom.
Talks on a Bilateral Trade Agreement (BTA) are on with the United States. The 50% US tariff on Indian goods, effective August 27, 2025, has adversely affected numerous Indian textile and apparel companies, increasing the risk that millions of people working in this sector may lose their jobs and livelihoods.
The US is the single-largest market for India’s textile and apparel exports, accounting for almost 28 per cent of the country’s textile and apparel exporters’ total revenue. India’s exports of textile and apparel products to the US were nearly $11 billion in the fiscal year 2024-25.
India’s total textile and apparel exports stood close to $38 billion in FY25.
