The India-UK FTA is likely to boost the already growing exports of ready-made garment
At a time when tariff talks with the US are hanging in the balance, the Free Trade Agreement (FTA), signed on Thursday, with the UK is a boon for India’s textile industry. The UK is a global fashion hub and the world’s fifth largest garment importer. It imported garments worth nearly $20 billion from the world in 2024, but India’s contribution was just $1.2 billion and in the top four suppliers to the UK.
There is a huge opportunity for the industry to tap the UK market. However, the critical issue is how quickly the industry can scale up their production in the next few months to meet the demand, industry players said.
The agreement is a huge plus for Indian textiles, and will pave the way for more FTAs with EU and other countries. It will pave the way for investment in capacity addition, said R. Rajkumar, Managing Director of Tiruppur-based Best Corporation (P) Ltd.
A Sakthivel, Hon Chairman, Tiruppur Exporters Association, hailed the agreement as a “historic achievement that will redefine India’s apparel export landscape.” With tariff advantages, Indian exporters will now enjoy a stronger edge over competitors from Bangladesh, Vietnam and China in the UK market, he said.
This is likely to boost the already growing exports of ready-made garments. “We foresee India’s ready-made garment exports to the UK more than doubling in the near future — from the current $1.45 billion to $3.25 billion. Of this, knitwear exports alone are expected to surge from $0.8 billion to nearly $2 billion, accounting for around 70 per cent of total ready-made garment exports to the UK,” Sakthivel added.
Kulin Lalbhai, Vice-Chairman of Arvind Ltd, wrote on social media that the agreement ensures 99 per cent duty-free access for India’s exports to the UK, thus boosting the textile sector. Arvind Ltd is already planning to develop the market in the UK, as it feels that the India-UK FTA deal will help it “re-balance” its dependence on the US market.
Increase trust
The India-UK FTA is also expected to increase the trust and reliability factor by streamlining customs procedures and mutual recognition of standards, thereby, reducing the compliance burdens for the Indian apparel exporters.
With duty-free access, the apparel exports to the UK will witness a renewed thrust and moment in coming years. The deal is a testimony of a shared commitment of deepening cooperation between the two great nations, Sudhir Sekhri, Chairman, Apparel Export Promotion Council, said.
For most of the garment products, the duty to export to the UK is 9.6 per cent. India mainly exports cotton-based garments such as T-shirts, women’s apparel and babywear but lacks competitiveness in winter wear and man-made fibre garments, he said.
With inputs from Avinash Nair
Published on July 24, 2025
