No consignments' to the US as tariffs hit India's carpet industry

"Surya Mani Tiwari has had sleepless nights ever since United States President Donald Trump slapped India with 50 percent tariffs. The 78-year-old exports carpets worth more than 1 billion rupees ($11.4m) from Bhadohi in the northern Indian state of Uttar Pradesh to the US every year. But the tariffs, the highest tier so far, have brought business to a screeching halt."

""We are completely dependent on the US for our business and have no other markets. The tariffs have brought our production to a halt, and no consignment has been dispatched to the US for the past one month," Tiwari told Al Jazeera. "It is the worst phase of my 50-year career in the carpet business, and the industry will die a painful death if the situation doesn't improve in the next two months.""

"India's predominantly export-based carpet industry produces handloom, handicraft, knotted, Persian and various other types of carpets that have a high demand in the US, including for wall-to-wall carpeting in homes and businesses. The industry with a turnover of 160 billion rupees ($1.83bn) employs more than 2.5 million people across the country, the majority of whom are weavers, as per the Carpet Export Promotion Council (CEPC). Bhadohi is the epicentre of the carpet business and controls more than an 80 percent share of the total turnover."

US-imposed tariffs doubled to 50 percent after an initial 25 percent on August 7 and an additional 25 percent from August 27, citing India's imports of Russian oil. The tariffs have halted shipments from Bhadohi, a northern Uttar Pradesh hub that accounts for over 80 percent of India's carpet turnover. The carpet sector, with a turnover of 160 billion rupees and employing more than 2.5 million people, relies heavily on US demand. Around 1,200 exporters operate in Bhadohi and many report production stoppages and no consignments dispatched, putting widespread incomes and jobs at risk.

Read at www.aljazeera.com