Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman assured the textiles industry that the government would take appropriate action to help them tide over the US tariffs crisis. The industry from its side sought immediate policy support for exporters to overcome the impact of the tariff hike.
Speaking to representatives from the textile industry in Chennai on Tuesday, the Finance Minister is said to have assured them that she was aware of the issues faced by the industry and would, in consultation with the Commerce Ministry, help them. With the GST Council meetings to be held on Wednesday and Thursday, the textile industry anticipates some announcement to support them.
A joint memorandum submitted by the textile industry associations and export promotion councils said that the high tariffs imposed by the US would severely impact not only the growth of exports but also the financial viability of thousands of textile units catering to the US market.
This includes those in the power loom, independent weaving, readymade garment, made-up and kitchen linen segments. The major clusters in Tamil Nadu, including Coimbatore, Tiruppur, Erode, Karur, Madurai, Theni and Virudhunagar are the worst affected, the joint memorandum said.
Among the various requests in the memorandum, the industry wants the government to address GST inverted duty structure in the man-made fibre (MMF) value chain and slotting the entire MMF value chain under 5 per cent GST slab on par with cotton value chain. It also requested the refund of accumulated capital goods GST credit to ease liquidity.
News Courtesy: Thehindubusinessline