How US tariff is pushing Surat's diamond artisans towards crime and unemployment

Surat, the diamond and textile capital of India, is facing a severe economic and social crisis as punitive new tariffs imposed by the United States strangle its vital export industries, threatening the livelihoods of hundreds of thousands of workers.

The 50 per cent tariff on Indian goods decreed by US President Donald Trump has caused exports worth billions to stall overnight, pushing the city’s primary industries towards unprecedented disruption. According to a report in The New Indian Express, the immediate consequence has been a complete halt in new orders from American buyers, who are now facing a steep 50 per cent price increase on Surat’s signature products.

The repercussions for the gem and jewellery sector are particularly dire. Jayanti Savaliya, regional president of the Gem and Jewellery Export Promotion Council (GJEPC), stated that the new pricing makes their products uncompetitive.

"New orders have stopped completely. With our products becoming 50 per cent costlier in the US, customers will simply stay away," Savaliya said, as per The New Indian Express. He warned that Special Economic Zones (SEZs), which depend entirely on direct exports, are especially vulnerable and called for urgent government support and marketing funds to prevent mass unemployment.

This external shock exacerbates an existing recession within the diamond industry. Prior to the tariff announcement, the Gujarat government had already initiated fee-support packages for artisans' children. Now, with $4.8 billion worth of gems and jewellery exports to the US frozen, the industry body estimates that 40 per cent of the 8-9 lakh workers in Surat and nearly half of Gujarat's 15 lakh diamond artisans are likely to face job losses.

The crisis is not confined to diamonds. The city’s vast textile industry, which supplies fabrics to garment hubs across India, is caught in the same storm. Ashok Jirawala, chairman of the Federation of Weavers Association, confirmed the tariff would cripple competitiveness. "Prices of garments, curtains, bedsheets and yarn will rise by 50 per cent. Competing in the US market will now be impossible,” he was cited by the The New Indian Express as saying, urging exporters to immediately seek out alternative markets.

The human cost of this economic paralysis is already emerging. In a stark indication of the social decay fostered by desperation, police in Surat's Varachha area arrested a 50-year-old former diamond worker, Bheraram Bishnoi, for selling opium worth Rs 53,400. Authorities revealed he had turned to crime after losing his job in the diamond industry, a direct result of the ongoing sectoral downturn now accelerated by the tariffs.

The industrial fallout is equally visible. A diamond firm in the Katargam area, which catered to foreign traders, abruptly laid off 100 workers this week, a decision directly attributed to the tariff shock. The move prompted protests, leading to tense negotiations facilitated by the Diamond Worker Union. The union’s vice president, Bhavesh Tank, later confirmed a resolution, stating, “All jewelers will resume work from tomorrow, with lost days adjusted.”