The US administration's unilateral decision to sharply increase tariffs across the board on imported goods poses a major challenge to the existing global trading system, which has long been based on multilateral (WTO), regional, and bilateral (Free Trade agreement) trade agreements.
K. V. Srinivasan, president of the International Textile Manufacturers Federation (ITMF), stressed that "these significant tariff increases will have a significant impact on U.S. textile imports, especially apparel imports."
Currently, about 95% of clothing sold in the U.S. market is imported, mainly from China (about 30%), Vietnam (13%), India (8%), Bangladesh (6%) and Indonesia (5.5%). In terms of specific data, these countries previously faced tariffs of 11 to 12 percent, and now the tax rate will soar to 38 to 65 percent. To that end, U.S. apparel importers are seeking alternative sources from countries with lower tariffs. However, many of these alternatives are expensive to produce and often lack the required product variety or production capacity.
Bringing apparel manufacturing back to the United States would also face significant challenges. Labor costs in the United States are much higher than in other countries, and many of the textiles necessary for clothing production still need to be imported - and now costs have risen. In addition, the United States faces a shortage of skilled workers in the apparel industry. Whether through higher import duties or costly domestic production, the end result will be higher clothing prices, which in turn will drive up inflation.
K. V. Srinivasan, Chairman of the International Textile Federation, further said: "The trade policies pursued by the US government will disrupt the textile and apparel supply chain, increase uncertainty, and drive up prices. Rather than imposing unilateral tariff increases on all product categories, the global textile and apparel industry would be better served by governments negotiating and working together to develop policies."
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