Skip to main content
BoF Logo

Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.

India’s Garment Workers Are Paying the Price for Trump’s Tariffs

Two months since the US hit India with 50 percent import duties, labourers in the country’s largest apparel manufacturing hubs face mass layoffs, reduced hours, and indefinite furloughs. The message from factories: ‘Come back once things in America get better.’
Two workers in a largely garment factory in Tiruppur, in the southern state of Tamil Nadu, India.
The 50 percent US tariff on India has upended the lives of garment workers in the country's export apparel hubs. Few remain as thousands have been furloughed or laid off. (Getty Images)

Every autumn,

Please sign in to ensure you can read our agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice. Or get in touch at support@businessoffashion.com if you experience difficulties.

© 2026 The Business of Fashion. All rights reserved. For more information read our Terms & Conditions

More from Sustainability
How fashion can do better for people and the planet.

Fashion Searches For a New Climate Solution

Coach-owner Tapestry’s new carbon-removal partnership and brands making fresh commitments to textile-to-textile recycling startups show an industry searching for ways to address its environmental impact.


view more
Latest News & Analysis
Unrivalled, world class journalism across fashion, luxury and beauty industries.

Who Won Fashion’s Red Carpet Season of Change

Sunday night’s Oscars concluded an awards season that fashion’s biggest labels used to show off their new creative game. BoF breaks down what we learned about brands’ celebrity strategies.


VIEW MORE
Agenda-setting intelligence, analysis and advice for the global fashion community.
CONNECT WITH US ON