Threat of tariff! Dark shadow on 1.5 lakh jobs in just one industry, 12000 crores on the verge of sinking!

The future of Tiruppur, called the knitwear capital of India, seems to be in the dark. The garment export industry fears huge losses due to the new 25% tariff imposed by the US. About 40% of garment exports from Tiruppur are to the US. In such a situation, increasing tariffs can cause a big blow to exports and the risk of loss of thousands of crores of rupees has increased. Apart from this, there is a possibility of many factories closing down and large-scale job losses.

Tirupur, located in Tamil Nadu, contributes 68% of India’s knitwear exports. In the financial year 2025, it did an export business of Rs 44,747 crore and employed about 10 lakh people. This city makes clothes for global brands like GAP and Walmart. But the model of this business has come under threat due to the continuous increase in tariffs by the US.

What are these exporters worried about?

K M Subramanyam, president of Tiruppur Exporters Association (TEA), told CNBC-TV18, “Every order cycle is of 120 days. Orders worth Rs 4,000 crore have already been affected.” The US market contributes Rs 12,000 crore annually to Tiruppur’s exports and the impact is immediately visible.

TEA joint secretary Kumar Duraisamy said, “Earlier, with a 25% tariff, we had become 5-6% more expensive than countries like Vietnam and Bangladesh. Even then, we survived due to old relationships. But now with a 50% tariff, this business is not possible. Neither exporters nor importers can bear this shock.”

Jobs at risk

Tirupur has 2,500 exporters and 20,000 independent factories that do weaving, dyeing, packaging, labelling and stitching. Exporters say that if orders stop, 1-1.5 lakh jobs could be lost. Duraisamy said, “Some units may survive by finding new buyers, but units completely dependent on the US may be doomed.” However, he also said that there is already a shortage of labor in Tiruppur.