Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, warning that steep tariffs imposed by the United States on Indian exports have pushed some of the state’s most employment-intensive industries toward a crisis, with potential nationwide consequences.
In his letter, Stalin described the 50 per cent tariffs as “punitive” and said they were inflicting severe damage on Tamil Nadu’s textile, apparel, leather and footwear sectors – industries that form the backbone of India’s export manufacturing and employ millions of workers.
Tamil Nadu accounts for about 28 per cent of India’s textile and apparel exports and nearly 40 per cent of its leather and footwear exports, according to figures cited in the letter. Together, these sectors employ roughly 85 lakh workers in the state, many of them women and migrant labourers.
The impact, Stalin wrote, has been especially acute in Tiruppur, often called the knitwear capital of India. Exporters there have reported the loss of confirmed orders worth nearly Rs 15,000 crore, alongside production cuts of up to 30 per cent across factories. New orders, he said, are “drying up at an alarming rate”.
Across Tiruppur, Coimbatore, Erode and Karur districts, exporters are facing combined daily revenue losses of about Rs 60 crore, pushing many small and medium enterprises to the brink of collapse. Similar conditions prevail in footwear clusters in Vellore, Ranipet and Tirupattur districts, the chief minister said.
Stalin warned that exporters, squeezed by tariffs, were being forced to offer deep discounts to retain international buyers, eroding already thin profit margins and undermining long-term competitiveness. The consequences, he said, extend well beyond balance sheets.
“Lakhs of jobs hang in the balance,” the letter said, noting that layoffs and wage deferrals have already begun, threatening the economic stability of entire communities. He cautioned that international buyers were rapidly shifting orders to countries such as Vietnam, Bangladesh and Cambodia, which currently enjoy tariff advantages.
Once supply chains move, Stalin warned, they rarely return – a development that could have lasting implications for India’s manufacturing ambitions and for employment prospects, particularly for young women who form a large share of the workforce in these sectors.
Calling the situation not just an economic setback but a “looming humanitarian challenge”, Stalin urged the Prime Minister to prioritise a resolution through a bilateral agreement with the United States at the earliest possible stage.
A swift intervention, he wrote, would help revive exporters’ fortunes and reinforce India’s credibility as a reliable global manufacturing hub. Expressing confidence in Modi’s commitment to equitable trade and job protection, Stalin said he looked forward to an early resolution of what he described as a deepening trade impasse.
