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The gem and jewellery industry has welcomed the recently announced India-US trade agreement, saying it will bring significant benefits to the sector.
While speaking with ANI, Rajesh Rokde, Chairman of the All India Gem and Jewellery Domestic Council, said, "The Gem and Jewellery industry is very happy with the agreement, and it going to give us big benefits. We have been in discussions with the government on the issue for a long time and is pleased that its concerns have now been addressed." Nainesh Pachigar, Gujarat State President, Jewellers Association said, "We welcome the move, and as mentioned by Union Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal that the government will work in a direction to bring the tariffs for Gem and Jewellery to 0%, it will give a big boost." "Earlier, we used to comprise of 35% of the exports to the US. In the last 7-8 months, since 50% tariff, our market in US suffered hugely," he said. Echoing with Pachigar, Nilesh Soni, Gems & Jewellery Businessman said, "As the US government had imposed a 50% tariff, the Indian jewellery business to US was completely shattered. But, as the announcement of reducing it to 18% came, we are preparing to bounce back." "If the tariffs on the commodity will be reduced to 0%, as mentioned by the Commerce Minister, then this sector's business will be more bullish," he said. Meanwhile, the textile and garment sector in Surat has also reacted positively to the development. Ranganath Sharda, Secretary of Ashoka Market and a textile and garment exporter, termed the agreement "big news" for Surat's textile industry. He said an 18 per cent tariff coming into effect is highly encouraging for traders. "Textile export to US is the highest after pharma, 30-35% of the total export comprises textile export. So, it is natural that Surat textiles will benefit," he said. "Traders in Surat have already started working on the requirements," he said, adding that the coming period would be very positive for the Surat market. According to Sharda, Surat's textile exports to the US alone are worth over Rs 1 lakh crore. He also said the agreement would give Indian exporters a competitive edge over rivals such as China, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Indonesia and Vietnam, leading to greater growth for the sector. The US and India announced in a joint statement that they have reached a framework for an Interim Agreement on reciprocal, mutually beneficial trade (the Interim Agreement) and have agreed on its terms. On February 2, a phone call between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US President Donald Trump led to the announcement of the conclusion of negotiations on the much-awaited trade deal. The Trump administration had imposed tariffs on major exporters to the US, including India and China.The BTA, formally proposed in February 2025, seeks to more than double bilateral trade, from the current USD 191 billion to USD 500 billion by 2030. (ANI)
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