Chennai, Aug 30, (PTI) AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami on Saturday urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to implement measures, including compensations and incentives, loan rescheduling and interest relief as exporters of Tamil Nadu's Tiruppur are hit hard due to 50 percent US tariffs.

Writing to Modi, seeking immediate relief measures for Tiruppur Knitted Apparel Export Industry, Palaniswami said he appreciated the initiatives of the Central government to diversify export destinations beyond the United States.

Still, he said there was an urgent need for immediate relief measures.

The AIADMK chief urged the PM to consider urgent interventions including compensations and incentives, reduction in tax on cotton yarn and loan rescheduling and interest relief.

Providing financial relief in the form of compensations or export incentives to counterbalance the sudden loss of competitiveness caused by the steep tariff hike was a key demand put forth by Palaniswami.

Introducing relief on the tax rates of cotton yarn to lower the overall cost of production, thereby enabling Indian knitwear to remain competitive in international markets, was another request.

One more important demand of the AIADMK was seeking directions to banks to reschedule loan repayments by way of deferment of dues for at least six months, coupled with relief on interest for pending loans to alleviate the financial distress faced by MSME units.

The AIADMK chief told the Prime Minister: "As you are aware, the Tiruppur Knitted Apparel hub is one of the most vital economic lifelines of Tamil Nadu, providing employment to more than nine lakh persons, including not only the people of Tamil Nadu but also a significant workforce from other states such as Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, and Chhattisgarh." Further, Palaniswami said: "Tiruppur contributes nearly 60% of India’s knitwear exports, thereby generating substantial foreign exchange for the country. However, the industry is currently facing severe challenges due to instability in cotton yarn prices and the high cost of manufacturing. The recent imposition of a 25% tariff by the United States, followed by an increase to 50%, has dealt a severe blow to our exporters and the people of Tamil Nadu. This has worsened the already languishing condition of this industry, which is largely dominated by MSME units." PTI VGN VGN ROH

Tariff relief measures sought: compensation, cotton yarn tax cuts and loan rescheduling to protect knitwear exporters. Immediate relief is requested to address tariff-induced loss of competitiveness in the Tiruppur knitwear sector through compensations and export incentives, reduction in tax on cotton yarn to lower production costs, and bank-directed loan rescheduling with interest relief to ease MSME financial distress, aiming to protect employment and export capacity.