The chairman of the ICC National Committee on Textiles, Sanjay Jain, pointed out that before April 2025, a 2%-10% duty was applied to different Indian products. Then came the 50% duty, followed by the 18% duty announcement. “The new duty structure that has been announced should be lower if we add the basic customs duty for garments, but we do not know what will happen next week,” he added.Arjun M Kulkarni, the president of Indian Leather Product Association, spoke to a few of their associates in the US, but nobody is sure whether the Trump administration will impose any new section or not. “If things stand where they are now, the duty on leather goods will be 18.5% (10% + 8.5% basic customs duty), which was 26.5%, but we have to see whether there will be any further decisions,” he added.Arun Garodia, the immediate past president of EEPC, pointed out that, as of now, it is good for engineering exporters as a 10% duty will be charged for the next five months. However, he added that one never knows whether the US administration will apply any new sections or not. He pointed out that for engineering exports, the basic customs duty was 0%–3% before March 2025. “As of now, 10% plus basic customs duty is less than the reciprocal duty of 18%, but we have to wait and watch,” he added.Pankaj Parekh, the chairman (East) of the Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council, pointed out that diamonds and jewellery, as of now, attract 0% duty, and it will be applicable up to Feb 24. “If any new sections come, it will be applicable after that,” he added. Rajarshee Banerjee, a board member of the national managing committee of the Seafood Exporters’ Association of India, also felt that the situation was still not clear.
