Mumbai: With the additional 25% tariff on India’s exports to the US set to take effect from today, pushing the overall tariff rate to 50%, American brands and retailers are asking Indian exporters to move production of new orders to other manufacturing countries. “New orders for spring season that are yet to go on production lines are being asked to move to other countries of production. The other option buyers have given suppliers is to share the burden of the penalty. No customers (brands/retailers) have the appetite to absorb this,” said Pallab Banerjee, MD at garment supplier Pearl Global which counts US companies Gap, Macy’s and Kohl’s among its clients. For orders that are already in production, brands are not asking exporters outright to make any changes on the ground but are making a similar demand of sharing the cost of added tariffs, Banerjee said.A 50% tariff puts India behind other major Asian garment manufacturing hubs such as Bangladesh and Vietnam which have been slapped with lower tariffs by the US. “From the conversations we have had with US buyers this morning, it is clear that they are not ready to absorb 50% tariff and have asked suppliers to shift sourcing to other countries. If things are not resolved at the political level, there will be a major crisis,” said Rahul Mehta, chief mentor at Clothing Manufacturers Association of India (CMAI), pegging India’s total apparel exports to the US at $5.5-$6 billion annually. Big exporters will not take a major hit as they have facilities across global markets but the count of small exporters is much higher and they are staring at a complete collapse of business, said Mehta. “Small exporters typically have a few customers, and they tend to be from the same country,” Mehta added. Gokaldas Exports is looking at newer markets to add to its mix, which is US focused for now.