Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin has warned of a looming humanitarian and economic crisis after the United States imposed 50% tariffs on Indian exports.
In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi he sought urgent intervention to resolve the issue before irreversible damage is done according to The New Indian Express.
The Chief Minister said the tariffs have badly hit Tamil Nadu’s textile apparel and leather sectors leading to a loss of Rs 15,000 crore (~$1.6 Billion) in confirmed orders.
Lakhs of jobs are now at risk and women workers form a large share of those affected.
Tiruppur known as India’s knitwear capital has been the worst hit.
Exporters there have seen Rs 15,000 crore worth of confirmed orders wiped out and production cuts of up to 30% across units.
Fresh orders are also slowing down fast.
“This has translated into a combined daily loss of Rs 60 crores (~$6.6 Million) in revenues for exporters in Tiruppur, Coimbatore, Erode and Karur districts pushing many MSMEs to the brink of collapse. A similar dismal scenario is witnessed in our footwear clusters in Vellore, Ranipet and Tirupatthur districts.”
– M K Stalin, Chief Minister, Government of Tamil Nadu
The Chief Minister said exporters are being forced to slash prices to hold on to buyers which is crushing margins and weakening long term viability.
He warned that layoffs and delayed wages have already begun and are threatening the stability of entire communities.
“International buyers are rapidly diverting orders to competitors like Vietnam, Bangladesh and Cambodia which have a tariff advantage over us.”
– M K Stalin, Chief Minister, Government of Tamil Nadu
He stressed that once buyers move to other countries winning them back will be extremely difficult as global supply chains rarely return.
The Chief Minister urged the Prime Minister to fast track a bilateral agreement with the United States to resolve the tariff issue at the earliest.
