New US Tariffs Hit Punjab, Haryana Exporters Hard

Chandigarh: The new US tariffs have come as a setback to exporters in Punjab and Haryana, with the key sectors of textile, auto components, leather goods and the basmati rice fearing a sharp decline in exports, huge losses to local manufacturers and large scale lay-offs.

The Punjab exporters in textile and leather goods, most of whom fall under micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) category and have meagre profit margins, fear that their business would turn unviable in the new situation, hence, the need to explore new markets in Europe, Asia and Africa despite sharp competitiveness. The auto parts exporters air the same views stating they too will have cut their profits drastically.

The basmati rice industries foresee adverse impact and bemoan the same will hit the farmers hard as the new tariffs may cause a situation of glut which will lead to a massive cut in the basmati prices.

The exporters in Ludhiana, one of the country’s top export hubs with core sectors of hosiery, hand tools and auto parts, and has over 300 companies directly exporting to the US, foresee a potential loss of over Rs 10,000 crore in the wake of new US tariffs.

According to information, Ludhiana’s industries exports Rs 6,000 crore worth of textile and hosiery products, garments worth over Rs 8,000 crore, electrical machinery and tools, Rs 5,000 crore, auto parts and hand tools, Rs 4,000 crore etc totalling over Rs 30,000, annually, which will face a major dent.

In Haryana, the exporters, especially based at Panipat, fear adverse impact on the textile sector and are on the lookout for new markets as they fear the new tariffs will make it tough to compete at international level.

Panipat, also called the ``textile city’’, which is the biggest employer in the textile sector, exports products like carpets and matas, has around Rs 20,000 crore export turnover, half of which was to the US alone, annually.