India’s shipments to its largest textile-and-garment market are still feeling the after-effects of last year’s US tariff disruptions, even after some duties were rolled back.
India’s textile and garment exports to the United States fell 28.7% year on year in February 2026 to $630 million, according to an industry analysis based on CITI data, extending the sector’s decline to a sixth straight month. The drop underlines how badly Indian exporters were hit by the tariff turbulence that began in August 2025 and continued into early 2026.
The tariff backdrop explains much of the damage. Reuters reported that the US had imposed a punitive 25% tariff on Indian imports over Russian oil purchases, then agreed on February 2, 2026 to reduce total tariffs on Indian goods from 50% to 18%, before formally rescinding the punitive oil-linked tariff on February 6. A further complication came when the US Supreme Court struck down Trump’s global tariffs on February 20, creating fresh uncertainty around the future tariff regime.
Even with that legal and policy relief, exporters are still dealing with lost order windows. The likely reason is commercial timing: once spring and early summer orders shift, recovery is not immediate. That matches the wider export picture. India’s total merchandise exports in February 2026 were $36.61 billion, slightly below $36.91 billion a year earlier, according to India’s Ministry of Commerce.
The comparative picture is also uncomfortable for India. While China’s textile and garment exports to the US reportedly fell even more sharply, Vietnam appears to have held up better, suggesting that tariff pressure alone is not the full story. Demand weakness in the US market, inventory caution, and sourcing flexibility among buyers are also shaping the outcome.
The next test is whether India can regain lost orders quickly enough now that the tariff fog has partly cleared. If not, the sector risks turning a temporary trade-policy shock into a longer market-share loss.
