Key takeaways
- The USA is India's largest market for every category we inspect: US$5.78 billion of home goods in 2025, including US$1.15 billion of rugs (UN Comtrade).
- Duty is charged on whatever enters the USA, good or bad. With rates on Indian goods changing in 2025 and 2026, finding defects before the goods sail matters more than ever.
- Most US label checks happen at the factory: origin marks, FTC fibre labels, STURDY tip-over warnings, TB 117-2013 and TSCA Title VI labels.
- A report released at the end of our working day reaches the US East Coast around the start of your morning.
What the USA buys from India
The USA is the largest buyer of Indian consumer goods in every category Clear To Load inspects. India reported exports to the USA of about US$12.5 billion across our product basket in calendar year 2025, of which US$5.78 billion was home goods, down about 1% on 2024 (UN Comtrade, India's reported data). The 2025 figures already reflect the US tariff changes of that year.
| Category (HS) | India's exports to the USA, 2025 |
|---|---|
| Woven apparel (62) | US$2,671m |
| Knitted apparel (61) | US$2,553m |
| Bed, table, toilet and kitchen linen (6302) | US$1,246m |
| Rugs and carpets (57) | US$1,147m |
| Furniture and lighting (9401, 9403–9405) | US$1,094m, of which furniture (9403) US$524m |
| Furnishing articles such as cushions and throws (6304) | US$968m |
| Worked stone (68) | US$747m |
| Bags (4202) and footwear (64) | US$484m and US$472m |
Handicrafts tell the same story. In FY 2024-25 the USA took US$1,515 million of Indian handicraft exports, 38.7% of the total, although that was 6.25% lower than a year earlier. It took 48% of India's woodware exports and 35.1% of its art metalware (EPCH Annual Report 2024-25).
Where those goods are made in India
- Rugs. Bhadohi (a Town of Export Excellence for carpets) and Mirzapur (added for handmade carpets and dari under Foreign Trade Policy 2023) for hand-knotted and hand-tufted rugs; Panipat for flatweaves and cotton rugs; Jaipur for knotted rugs and dhurries.
- Home textiles. Panipat (a Town of Export Excellence for bed linen) and Karur (for handlooms) make bed sheets and duvet covers, table linen and cushions.
- Furniture and wooden décor. Jodhpur, our home base, for sheesham and mango wood furniture; Saharanpur for carved wood; Jaipur for painted wood and stone.
- Metal décor and lighting. Moradabad, a Town of Export Excellence for handicrafts since 2023.
- Apparel, footwear and bags. Tirupur (a Town of Export Excellence for hosiery) and Faridabad (for apparel) for garments, and Agra, Kanpur and Ambur (for leather products) for footwear and bags. See apparel, footwear and leather goods inspection.
Why tariff swings make the pre-shipment check matter
No trade agreement between the USA and India is in force. A joint statement in February 2026 set out a framework for an interim agreement, but duties on Indian goods changed several times in 2025 and again in 2026. We do not quote rates: check the current HTS line and any Chapter 99 duty with your customs broker when you price the order and again before the goods ship.
What this means for quality control is simple. Duty is assessed on what enters the USA, whether the goods are sellable or not. A container of rugs with uneven pile or bed sheets short on thread count costs you freight, duty and then the cost of sorting, returning or discounting. Finding the problem in Panipat or Jodhpur, while the factory can still rework it, means you pay once and ship once. A during-production inspection, done when 20–60% of the order is complete, catches problems before the whole order is made wrong.
US checks we add at the factory
Tell us the goods are going to the USA and these go on the checklist, on sampled units and on cartons:
- Origin marking. “Made in India” in English, legible and as permanent as the article allows, on the item or, where 19 CFR 134 allows, its container. Outer cartons too.
- Textile labels. Fibre content, country of origin and the RN number or company name required by the FTC Textile Act rules (16 CFR 303) on bedding, towels, cushions, throws and rugs.
- Furniture labels. The STURDY tip-over warning on clothing storage units, the TB 117-2013 label (16 CFR 1640) on upholstery and the TSCA Title VI label where MDF or plywood is used.
- Wood species. That the wood on the line matches the genus and species on your Lacey Act declaration, and that pallets carry the ISPM 15 mark.
- Prop 65 and retailer labels. Warning text, UPC and retailer tickets as specified in your purchase order.
Since 8 July 2026, certificate data for CPSC-regulated products has to be eFiled at entry. Ask for test reports before the goods are packed; we can pull and seal samples for an accredited lab through lab testing coordination.
Rules that apply
The full US checklist (importer of record, ISF, HTS, CPSC, Lacey, labels and documents) is on importing from India to the USA. For product rules, see the STURDY Act and ASTM F2057 for dressers and chests, TB 117-2013 for upholstered furniture, TSCA Title VI for composite wood, the Lacey Act for wood products and California Prop 65 for goods sold in California. There is no federal packaging producer-responsibility law, but several states have passed their own, with rules that differ state by state; ask your customer or compliance adviser which apply to you.
Time zones and when your report arrives
India Standard Time is UTC+5:30 with no daylight saving. India is 10:30 hours ahead of New York in winter (EST) and 9:30 in summer (EDT), and 13:30 or 12:30 ahead of Los Angeles. Our office hours, Monday to Saturday from 9:30 am to 6:30 pm IST, end at 8:00 am EST or 9:00 am EDT on the East Coast.
So an inspection done on your Tuesday is usually finished while you sleep. The report follows within 24 hours of the inspection, after supervisor review, and it is often waiting when your morning starts, with a verdict of Cleared to load, Hold or Not cleared. Messages sent at the end of your working day are answered by your next morning. For West Coast buyers, the evening is the best time to reach us live on WhatsApp.
Booking and price
One man-day costs US$249: one inspector, one factory, eight working hours, report included. Travel is free in Jodhpur, US$99 per man-day in Jaipur, Saharanpur, Moradabad, Delhi NCR and Kolkata, and at actual cost elsewhere, quoted before you book. Rug and textile towns such as Bhadohi, Panipat and Karur fall in that last band. Prices are in US dollars and the same whatever the result. See pricing, or book an inspection with your purchase order and the US labels the goods must carry.
Sources
- UN Comtrade: India's exports by partner and HS heading, 2025
- EPCH: 39th Annual Report 2024-25 (country-wise handicraft exports)
- The White House: United States–India Joint Statement, February 2026
- USITC: Harmonized Tariff Schedule
- eCFR: 19 CFR Part 134, country of origin marking
- eCFR: 16 CFR Part 303, Textile Fiber Products Identification Act rules
- Federal Register: CPSC Certificates of Compliance final rule (eFiling)
- DGFT: Appendix 1B, Towns of Export Excellence
- PIB: Foreign Trade Policy 2023 announced (new Towns of Export Excellence)
- EPCH: press release on Moradabad and Varanasi as Towns of Export Excellence
- timeanddate.com: India Standard Time