Catenaa, Saturday, February 07, 2026- GAP, Ralph Lauren, and Walmart emerge as the winners of the US-India trade deal worth $500 billion, as both economies are set for huge benefits.
Under the new outline unveiled this week, US President Donald Trump agreed to lower tariffs on Indian goods to an effective rate of 18% from 50%.
In return, India pledged to buy $500 billion of American products and eliminate trade barriers on some US goods, including agriculture, manufactured items, chemicals, and medical devices.
More details of the agreement were released on Friday after an executive order signed by Trump.
The deal brought relief to Indian assets, with both equities and currency markets surging this week
Indian companies are some of the biggest suppliers of apparel, footwear, and jewelry products to the US.
High tariffs on exports have skewed their supply agreements, forcing firms to opt to absorb the elevated costs and fulfill their commitments. Those will now be tariffed at 18%.
Pearl Global Industries Ltd., one of India’s biggest garment exporters, expects its operations to gain significant momentum following the deal.
“With the penalty now eliminated, the discount pressure disappears — directly boosting profitability from February onwards,” Managing Director Pallab Banerjee told Bloomberg.
Pearl Global counts GAP and Ralph Lauren among its clients.
Suppliers to Walmart such as Welspun Living and Kitex Garments, might see improvement in order inflows.
Shoe-making, another sector that employs millions of low-cost laborers, is anticipating relief now that both punitive and so-called reciprocal tariffs will be removed.
Further, India will cut the levy on import of Harley-Davidson motorcycles, a key Trump demand, with more than 800 cubic centimeters of engine capacity but less than 1,600 cc, to zero.
