To Protect Domestic Manufacturers, Government Hikes Import Duties On Over 300 Textile Goods

The Central government has hiked import duties on 328 textile products to protect domestic manufacturers, Mint has reported. The import duty has been doubled to 20 percent for most categories. This hike comes in the wake of a 16 per cent rise in textile imports in financial year 2017-18. Textile imports from China were valued at $3 billion out of a total $7 billion imports in the sector.

Textiles sector is labour intensive and hence the government has taken the measures to protect jobs in the sector with the move expected to impact imports from China, Turkey, Vietnam and Sri Lanka. Bangladesh, however, may escape the import duties due to its Least Developed Country (LDC) status.

The products that are likely to be impacted are knitted carpets, men’s jackets, trousers, underwear, women’s lingerie, bathrobes and artificial fibres.

Director General of the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO), an industry lobby group, Ajay Sahay expressed optimism that the move will help local manufacturers. He added that duty drawback rates must be notified to safeguard exporters from India.

Foreign players have criticised the move claiming that it will push up prices and reduce consumption claiming that Indians will buy foreign apparel in bulk when they travel abroad instead of buying in Indian outlets.