By Puran Dawar, Chairman, Development Council for Footwear & Leather Industry
The India-USA Trade Deal is one for which Indian industry had been eagerly waiting particularly to understand whether it would meaningfully benefit labour-intensive sectors or remain skewed toward capital-intensive industries.
It is well recognised that the United States, with just about 3% of the world’s population, commands nearly 24% of global purchasing power. This is a market that India simply could not afford to overlook, and President Trump’s approach has been clearly aimed at leveraging this economic strength.
Under the decisive leadership of Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the able stewardship of Hon’ble Minister of Commerce & Industry Piyush Goyal, supported by the tireless efforts of the Ministry of Commerce, DPIIT, and the entire negotiating team, India has been able to secure a highly competitive outcome with tariff advantages over key global competitors.
Only days ago, India successfully concluded what has rightly been described as the “Mother of All Deals” with the European Union an agreement I was privileged to witness firsthand. In that context, this India-USA agreement may well be termed the “Father of All Deals”, given the scale and strategic importance of the US market.
We are confident that labour-intensive sectors such as footwear and leather goods, textiles and garments, handicrafts, toys, and allied MSME-driven industries will see 3-5 times growth in employment and exports over the coming years. These Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) are expected to significantly accelerate India’s economic momentum, with the potential to lift GDP growth from the current 7% trajectory toward double-digit levels. The footwear and leather industry, in particular, is excited and fully prepared to target a 5× growth over the next five years, leveraging improved market access and global competitiveness.
On behalf of the industry, we place on record our deep gratitude to Hon’ble Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Hon’ble Commerce & Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, Hon’ble External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, and the entire Government of India team for their vision, perseverance, and commitment to India’s economic transformation.
