Indian clothes will be sold in America without tax
India-us trade deal: A relief news is coming from America for the Indian textile industry and exporters. For a long time, there was concern that Indian business might lag behind due to the special discounts being given to Bangladeshi textile traders in the American market. But now the Commerce Ministry has indicated that India too is going to get the benefit of ‘zero-duty’ on the lines of Bangladesh.
What is this new ‘zero duty’ deal with America?
According to the Commerce Ministry, in the ongoing talks between India and America, it has been decided that Indian exporters will also get the same facilities which have been given to Bangladesh. This simply means that if Indian textile manufacturers buy cotton from America and prepare clothes from it and export it back to America, then no import duty will be imposed on them.
This arrangement is being seen under ‘reciprocal tariff’ i.e. mutual duty benefit. The government believes that with this step Indian apparel will become more competitive in the American markets. Till now, Indian exporters were afraid that if Bangladesh got huge duty exemption and India did not, then our orders might reduce. But the proposed agreement has removed this fear to a great extent.
Piyush Goyal and Rahul Gandhi came face to face
Political temperatures are also high in Parliament regarding this trade agreement. Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi had alleged that Bangladesh got better terms than India in the trade agreement with America. Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal reacted sharply to his claim and presented the government’s side in Parliament.
Piyush Goyal clarified that this misconception being spread by the opposition is completely wrong. He said, “A lie was spread in the Parliament that Bangladesh has got more benefits than India. The truth is that just as Bangladesh has the facility of zero tariff on using American raw materials, India will also get the same facility.” Goyal also said that the framework of this agreement is currently being prepared and as soon as the interim agreement is finalized, all the terms will be in front of everyone in ‘fine print’.
90 to 95 percent agricultural products out of the agreement
In the background of this entire incident, there is a joint statement of America and Bangladesh issued on 9 February 2026. In that statement, the US had announced that it would reduce its tariffs on Bangladeshi goods to 19% and provide ‘zero-duty’ access for clothes made from American cotton. After this announcement, there was confusion in the Indian market, which has now been cleared by the Government of India.
Apart from this, Piyush Goyal has also assured the farmers of the country. Often there is a fear in free trade agreements that foreign agricultural products will harm local farmers by flooding the Indian market. On this, Goyal said that about 90 to 95 percent of agricultural products produced in India have been kept out of this agreement. That means there will be no flood of American agricultural products into India.