India Eyes Zero-Duty US Access for Textiles to Offset Bangladesh Advantage

India’s textile exporters may soon get zero-duty access to the US market on garments made with US-origin cotton and man-made fibres, similar to the concessions extended to Bangladesh under Washington’s new trade arrangement. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has indicated that a framework is being worked out so that once an interim pact is finalised, Indian exporters using qualifying US raw materials can also ship apparel into the US at a zero reciprocal tariff rate.

The move is aimed at easing industry concerns that Bangladesh’s recent zero-tariff window on such garments would undercut India’s pricing competitiveness in its largest apparel export market. Officials and industry representatives quoted in the report said the prospective parity would help neutralise that edge without hurting Indian cotton farmers, as 90–95% of India’s agricultural products have been kept outside the broader trade concessions being negotiated with the US.