The Directorate General of Foreign Trade (DGFT) and the Government of Tamil Nadu jointly organised a State-Level Workshop on leveraging India’s Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) to expand global market opportunities for the state’s textile and apparel industry in Chennai on October 30.
Organised in association with the Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) and other Export Promotion Councils (EPCs), the workshop focused on helping Tamil Nadu’s textile, apparel and garment exporters capitalise on preferential trade agreements to strengthen their international market presence.
Titled “Leveraging FTAs – Translating India’s Free Trade Agreements to Global Market Opportunities for Tamil Nadu,” the workshop highlighted opportunities to identify high-potential export products, explore new international markets and maximise preferential tariff benefits available under India’s expanding FTA network.
Key discussions covered Rules of Origin and compliance requirements, international quality and sustainability standards, raw material sourcing, production capacity enhancement and strategies to address tariff-related challenges.
The programme also emphasised the importance of improving exporters’ understanding of FTA provisions and ensuring that businesses are equipped to meet the regulatory and operational requirements of preferential trade agreements.
The discussions featured insights from P Gopalakrishnan, Regional Chairman (Southern Region), FIEO; K Unnikrishnan, Joint Director General, FIEO (Southern Region); and Kumar Duraiswami, Joint Secretary, Tiruppur Exporters’ Association (TEA), Executive Committee Member of the Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) and CEO of Eastern Global Clothing, Tiruppur.
The workshop underscored the potential of India’s FTAs to improve the global competitiveness of Tamil Nadu’s textile and apparel sector by opening access to new markets, reducing tariff barriers and strengthening export capabilities.
Greater collaboration between government agencies, industry associations and exporters, along with improved awareness of FTA benefits, will be critical to translating trade agreements into tangible export growth and taking Made in Tamil Nadu products to international markets.