New Delhi, Jan 27 (PTI) India's textiles exports to the European Union will get a major boost as it will get duty-free access in the 27-nation bloc, the commerce ministry said on Tuesday.

At present, the import duty in the EU on Indian textiles ranges between 0 and 12 per cent.

"Gaining zero duty access in textiles and clothing, covering all tariff lines and reducing tariffs by up to 12 per cent, would open up the EU's Rs 22.9 lakh crore (USD 263.5 billion) import market," the ministry said.

The sector, which is the second largest employer after agri, will also compete with Bangladesh, which enjoys zero duty in the EU market.

"Building on India's current Rs 3.19 lakh crore (USD 36.7 billion) textile and apparel exports, including USD 7.2 billion to the EU, such access would significantly expand opportunities, particularly in yarn, cotton yarn, cotton yarn, man-made fibre apparel, ready-made garments, men's and women's clothing and home textiles," the ministry said.

This would enable MSMEs to scale, generate employment, and reinforce India's positioning as a reliable, sustainable, and high-value sourcing partner, it added.

Commenting on the FTA, Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) said industry projections estimate that Indian apparel exports could grow by 20–25 per cent year on year after operationalization of the FTA as against the current growth rate of 3.01 per cent in the EU market.

AEPC Chairman A Sakthivel said the FTA would eliminate tariffs on 100 per cent of apparel tariff lines which will enhance market access to all member countries of the EU.

The EU is the world's largest apparel importer with total apparel import worth USD 202.8 billion in 2024-25.

Some of the major garment importing countries of the EU like Germany, France, Spain and Italy source substantially from India and this deal will further boost the country's apparel exports to these economies, he added. PTI RR HVA

India textiles to gain duty-free access in EU under proposed FTA, eliminating tariffs across apparel and textile lines. The India-EU free trade agreement will provide duty-free market access for textiles and clothing to the EU by eliminating tariffs (currently up to 12%) across all apparel and textile tariff lines, expanding export opportunities in yarn, apparel and home textiles, and strengthening MSME scale-up and competitiveness against preferential suppliers.