Representatives of the India Carpet Manufacturers Association (AICMA) and the Carpet Export Promotion Council (CEPC) met with the Union Textile Minister, Giriraj Singh, to request for a special bailout package to help the labour-intensive carpet industry cushion the impact of the US tariffs on Indian goods.
Of the country’s carpet weavers, those in Bhadohi, a district in Uttar Pradesh, stand out for their famed hand-knotted carpet production that accounts for 60 per cent of India’s total carpet exports.
The MLA from Bhadohi, Zahid Baig (a Samajwadi Party member), also requested the Uttar Pradesh government to provide a special 10 per cent bailout package to the exporters.
In his letter to the state’s CM, Yogi Adityanath, Baig said the tariff will most significantly impact the carpet industry because 99 per cent of carpets made in India are exported, with 60 per cent of that going to the US. He highlighted that the carpet industry is a cottage industry that employs 30 lakh people, with women making up a valuable 25 per cent of that workforce.
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According to Akhilesh Singh, Chief Administrative Officer of CEPC's Bhadohi office, India's carpet exports in the last financial year were valued at ₹16,800 crore. Of this, 60 per cent was exported to the US and 40 per cent to European countries.
Both AICMA and CPEC stressed that they want to retain their American exporters, reasoning that if they began importing from countries where the US has imposed lower tariffs, such as China, Turkey, and Pakistan, it would be extremely difficult to win them back.
Meanwhile, Baig stated that women who weave carpets are self-reliant, and that if exports are affected, the biggest blow will be to the weavers, labourers, and women who create these carpets using only their hands and skills, without the use of machinery.
With millions in danger of losing their livelihoods, Baig urged the government to protect the 800 export units in UP from this direct blow.
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