“This kind of buzz we are witnessing again after four to five months. With the reduction of tariffs to 18 or 15 per cent, exporters and manufacturers like us have become very bullish. We’ve already instructed our plant managers and heads to be prepared for larger orders,” said Amit Thapar (52), president of the company, located along the historic Grand Trunk Road in Kot Sekhon, Khanna, in the Ludhiana district, Punjab.
The factory, spread across more than 150 acres with 30-40 buildings, employs over 5,000 workers and runs day-and-night shifts. It had been planning the fresh construction of new units, but had to halt work due to business disruptions.
“Construction has regained pace. We also provide hostels inside the factory campus and are planning to build more in the coming years, especially for women, so they may be able to work night shifts as well,” Thapar added.
“However, there are some ongoing challenges — many customers have grown accustomed to discounted prices, and returning to original pricing isn’t easy. These legacy issues are still being worked through,” he said.
He added that no layoffs were carried out in the past five months due to the tariffs, but if the situation had continued, the company might have considered some cuts.
“However, I think we will be adding about 400 to 500 employees in 2026-27 across all segments we operate in,” Thapar said.
Thapar also said the US court’s tariff order and the bilateral agreement are both a relief. “Customers who had been trying to find other sources will now return, and orders will go back to normal.”
“Ocean freight rates are bound to rise, and raw material prices have already started increasing. Even packing materials have become expensive. With the US dollar hitting a new high, an imme-diate impact on local prices is imminent,” he said.
Global fault lines keep exporters on edge
However, the war in West Asia remains a concern for the industry, adding uncertainty to the global outlook. “Global geopolitical tensions are contributing to volatility in shipping routes, freight costs, and insurance premiums. While supply chains have not been severely disrupted yet, logistics costs and uncertainties in transit times are becoming a concern for exporters who rely on timely delivery to international markets,” said Mukul Verma (45), second-generation entrepreneur at Savi International, a company started by his father in 1978.
Thapar said that after the 50 per cent tariff was imposed, the company had been operating at 70-75 per cent capacity. “Now we expect that within the next two to three months we’ll need to scale up to 100 per cent or even 110 per cent capacity,” he said. He added that businesses naturally become cautious in such situations.
“For investment and capital expenditure, uncertainty isn’t good for business. We are being cautious and, due to volatility, not entering long-term commitments. The government should continue signing free trade agreements and bilat-eral trade agreements and ensure a steady supply of gas and other essentials to industry,” he said.
After the silence, factory hum returns
Outside the factory gate, a queue of trucks waited to unload fresh raw material while workers inside prepared long, colourful sheets for further processing. Similar activity was visible at another textile unit roughly 10 kilometres (km) away — Shingora Textiles.
Amit Jain, chairman of Confederation of Indian Industry Punjab State Council and managing director of Shingora Textiles, said the tariff reduction would help recover the market, though regaining lost customers remains a challenge.
“The past five to six months have pushed our core customers to explore other markets. That’s a big challenge — bringing them back. Fashion cycles are longer; we have already lost two seasonal cycles. Getting business back is another challenge,” he said. During the difficult period, the company explored markets within India and in West Asia. “Vietnam and Türkiye are big challenges in the wool and textile sector,” he said.
For workers, revival means survival
Though daily routines for labourers changed, Rajesh Kumar (name changed), 36, a worker at the factory, said, “We did not lose our jobs, but we were not getting overtime, which used to help us earn extra income.”
Another worker, Manoj Mahto (name changed), said: “We are migrants who have come from 1,000 km away in Bihar just to work. Salary alone cannot sustain a family of six. My wife and I both work in this factory and together earn about ₹30,000 per month. Now that work has picked up again, it has given us a new ray of hope.”
Forging shops wait for next order
At Pankaj International, a medium enterprise near Sidhwan Canal Road in Ludhiana, iron rods were being coated with zinc while machines shaped fasteners into the required forms.
The pace here has been slower as the company largely supplies the domestic market.
“After the reduction in tariffs, we are expecting more bulk orders. We have started receiving some calls,” said Pankaj Gupta (57), chairman and founder of the company, which has been jointly run since its start in 1995. About 20 per cent of his business comes from the US.
“Some of the machines, which cost over ₹1–2 crore, had stopped running due to a shortage of orders. Some shipments were already en route, and we had to pay an extra 25 per cent, which wiped out the entire profit. But we had to execute it because it was a very large order,” Gupta said while showcasing his tin-shed factory.
“We see a jump of about 30 per cent in the next financial year. The European Union trade deal shows the world is favouring India, and we are looking for stronger global demand,” he added.
“The US is not replaceable for some specific products — consumption there is very high.”
A crowded export battlefield
“Orders were impacted, and buyers were holding a wait-and-watch position. No one was sure about the 50 per cent tariffs. Ten to 15 per cent of our total order book was affected over the past five months,” Verma said. He added that Pakistan remains a major competitor in sports goods.
“In terms of volume, they are about 10x ahead of us. Exporting sports goods is a core sector for them. China and Vietnam are also major competitors,” he said.
Major industries in Punjab export yarn, textiles, hand tools, agricultural equipment, and tractor parts to the US, among other products.
Exporters said countries such as Vietnam, Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Türkiye gained during the period, as clients naturally shifted to markets with lower tariffs.
Upkar Singh Ahuja, president of Chamber of Industrial and Commercial Undertakings, Ludhiana, said the broader impact on employment has been limited.
“Going forward, there will still be demand for labour, particularly in grey-collar segments. Exporters who were supplying to the US have spent the past five months exploring and developing alternative markets to sustain customer demand,” he said.
Game isn’t over yet in Jalandhar
At Jalandhar’s iconic Football Chowk, trucks loaded with footballs and cricket gear move alongside mustard fields in full bloom — a contrast between Punjab’s agrarian roots and its industrial ambition.
“A 50 per cent rate was not feasible at all — neither for importers nor exporters, especially for sectors like engineering goods, carpet, leather, and footwear. There is strong demand in the US, particularly for steel products, and both customers and exporters stand to benefit,” said Ashwani Kumar, partner at Victor Forgings, a Jalandhar-based company.
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Tariff shackles snap: US tariff cuts revive exporter confidence across Punjab’s textile, engineering, and sports goods clusters -
Factories roar back: Units running at 70-75% expect to scale up to 100-110% within two to three months as orders return -
Hiring wheels turn: Ganga Acrowools plans to add 400-500 employees in FY27 across manufacturing segments -
Shopfloor squeeze: No layoffs, but shrinking overtime cut into workers’ extra earnings
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