USFIA - United States Fashion Industry Association

USFIA Statement on Canada and Mexico Tariffs

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WASHINGTON, D.C. – March 4, 2025

We are disappointed that the Trump Administration moved forward to impose new tariffs on our major trading partners. These tariffs ignore the complex Western Hemisphere supply chains and close trade ties created by textile and apparel companies during the more than 30 years since a regional free trade agreement first went into effect.

The “Made in” label only tells part of a garment’s story. The journey of a simple cotton t-shirt is complex -- from design and production to logistics and distribution. The Western Hemisphere’s apparel and textile supply chain is deeply intertwined and retaliation will hurt Americans -especially farmers, retailers and consumers. For example U.S. cotton supplies about 60% of Mexico’s textile production needs, according to the USDA’s Foreign Agricultural Service. U.S. government data also shows that in 2024, $3.1 billion (or 3%) of U.S. apparel imports came from our USMCA partners, Canada and Mexico.

Apparel and textile products already face some of the highest tariff rates of any U.S. imports, reaching as high as 32%. There will be a major impact on costs and inflation from the 20% additional tariffs on imports from China. China is the top supplier of apparel to the U.S. consumer. According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, American businesses and consumers have already paid $220 billion in additional tariffs under the China Section 301 from the first Trump Administration.

We urge the President and Administration trade officials to reconsider these tariffs and focus on supporting American families and American companies with lower costs and the benefits of trade.

USFIA Media Contact:
Stephanie Gauzens
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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About the United States Fashion Industry Association

The United States Fashion Industry Association (USFIA) is dedicated to fashion made possible by global trade. USFIA represents textile and apparel brands, retailers, importers, and wholesalers based in the United States and doing business globally; working to eliminate tariff and non-tariff barriers that impede the industry’s ability to trade freely and create economic opportunities in the United States and abroad with the goal of doing what we can to make the world a better place for our customers, our colleagues, and our suppliers.

USFIA Statement on Potential 301 Tariffs

The threat to fashion brands and retailers—and the consumers who love them—heightens as the Trump Administration considers new tariffs on products from China, which could potentially include clothing, shoes, accessories, and home textiles.

The United States Fashion Industry Association (USFIA) has joined with business groups in many sectors, including fashion, footwear, retail, and tech, in sending letters to President Donald Trump urging him to reconsider the expected broad-based remedy tariffs under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. (Click here to read both letters.)

In case we weren’t clear the first time, while we support efforts to protect the intellectual property of brands and retailers, we will never support punitive tariffs based on the fiction that imports harm domestic jobs and growth. These new tariffs will not create more jobs in the United States, but instead, will harm the companies that already create thousands upon thousands of high-quality jobs in design, in marketing, in retail, in logistics, in compliance, right here in the United States.

And these tariffs will absolutely harm American consumers, who will face higher prices on the clothes, shoes, home products, and other essentials.

To reiterate, tariffs are not the way to support American companies and jobs, and definitely not the way to participate in the global economy. We urge the Trump Administration to consider the implications of these tariffs, and at the very least, consult with American brands and retailers before taking this egregious step.

USFIA Tells Trump Administration Raising Tariffs on China Imports Will Only Hurt American Companies and Consumers

Washington, D.C -Yesterday, the USFIA submitted comments to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative in response to the September 3, 2019 announcement that the Trump Administration would further ramp up tariffs on consumer goods (as part of the Section 301 case against China). In the comments, USFIA President Julia K. Hughes urges the Trump Administration to remove allapparel products and consumer goods from the list of products subject to tariff increases under this Section 301 case. “It is time to end the trade war now,” says USFIA President Julia K. Hughes.

USFIA has seen the negative impact that tariffs are having on American consumers and business. Our members, representing brands, retailers, importers, and wholesalers in the US who provide fashion for American consumers, as well as high quality jobs in the US, have already spoken out about the way these tariffs have negatively affected them. According to the USFIA’s 2019 Benchmarking Survey, “companies across the United States said they are very worried about rising costs, and they are feeling less optimistic about the outlook for the fashion industry; a direct link to the 301 action against China.”

USFIA emphasized the urgency of the tariff situation to USTR as layoffs and company closures loom ahead for some companies. “These additional tariffs do not address China’s unfair trade practices and instead are causing harm to the U.S. economy. We support face-to-face negotiations to end the trade war and instead focus on serious and enforceable trade agreements with China to resolve these issues.”

We know that fashion is only made possible by global trade. USFIA has asked USTR to support American consumers, businesses, and the creation of high-quality jobs in the U.S. by supporting global trade.

USFIA Testifies at 301 Hearings, Urges Administration to Leave Fashion Off List of Products Subject to New Tariffs

Today, USFIA President Julia K. Hughes testified during the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative’s hearing on Section 301 investigation of China’s Acts, Policies, and Practices Related to Technology Transfer, Intellectual Property, and Innovation. In her testimony, she emphasized the importance of global trade for our industry and explained how tariffs would harm jobs in our sector and the price of clothing for consumers. The testimony as distributed at the meeting is available here.

USFIA to Testify Today Against Section 301 Tariffs on Clothing, Home Textiles and Footwear

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today the U.S. Fashion Industry Association joins hundreds of American companies who are speaking out against the Trump Administration's proposal to impose additional tariffs on American families. Our message is clear -- These tariffs are a tax that will be paid by American companies and ultimately by American consumers.

USFIA calls on the Administration to exempt all clothing, home textiles and footwear from these retaliatory tariffs. Clothing, home textiles and shoes for American families are currently taxed more than $15 billion per year. And these tariffs already are extremely high -- tariffs on clothing can be as high as 32 percent. Tariffs are a direct tax on the American consumer—and will affect consumers at all income levels, from the single parent struggling to make ends meet as they purchase back-to-school necessities for their kids, to the consumer of high-end fashion manufactured in the United States, and every American family in between.

In USFIA’s statement we highlight the fact that these tariffs will hurt American brands, retailers and wholesalers. Higher prices and lower sales will threaten jobs: from entry level retail positions to highly paid design, sourcing and e-commerce positions.

We also rebut the claims that higher tariffs will bring manufacturing jobs back to the U.S. USFIA and our members support Made in USA and manufacturing in the U.S., but there is not the capacity to make apparel in the United States today. “Apparel and textile supply chains are complex, and already involve inputs from multiple countries. Talking with sourcing executives, they say that it takes anywhere from two to five years to identify and approve a new vendor.” In USFIA’s 2019 Benchmarking Survey, which will be released in July, not a single respondent said that they had found the capacity for production to return to the U.S. And some respondents said they are worried that the China tariffs will increase costs for their Made in USA products and exports.

These tariffs on imports of clothing, home textiles and footwear will do little to punish China for its intellectual property and technology transfer practices but do a lot to harm American fashion brands and retailers as well as consumers of their products. Let’s find a solution that does not use American companies and American families as the hostages to a trade deal.

Click here to read USFIA President Julia K. Hughes’ full testimony as prepared for the hearing.

USFIA’s full comments are available here.

To speak with Hughes or another industry expert, contact Molly McNulty, USFIA Communications Coordinator, 202-419-0444, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

USFIA Webinar Series: Strategies for Minimizing the Impact of the New Tariffs on Your Business

The United States Fashion Industry Association Presents

Fighting on the Frontlines of the Trade War: Strategies for Minimizing the Impact of the New Tariffs on Your Business

The U.S.-China trade war has reached the fashion industry. Starting September 24, 2018, the Trump Administration will impose tariffs of 10 percent on many textile and fashion products; these tariffs will increase to 25 percent on January 1, 2019. Join the United States Fashion Industry Association (USFIA) for a series of webinars to help you understand—and minimize—the impact of the new tariffs on imports from China on your business.

Click here to see the list of tariff lines affected by the tariff increases.

These webinars are free for USFIA members and affiliates!

If you have questions about these webinars, or the new tariffs, contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

How to Fight the Trade War: The Exclusion Process

October 2, 2018 at 2:00 PM ET (11:00 AM PT)

Are the new 10-25 percent tariffs on Chinese imports hitting your products in advance of the upcoming holiday season? It’s possible to get some reprieve—if you act quickly. The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has implemented a product exclusion process by which companies may request the exclusion from these duties on one or more products on the list subject to the Section 301 tariffs. Join the United States Fashion Industry Association (USFIA) and USFIA Associate Member Arent Fox for a 30-minute webinar to learn the what, how, and when of the exclusion process—including an overview of the specific forms and guidelines, the deadlines for submitting the requests, and how to file responses to posted requests.

USFIA Members/Affiliates & Arent Fox Clients: $0

Non-Members: $95

Click here to register for The Exclusion Process.

How to Fight the Trade War: The Broker’s Perspective

October 4, 2018 at 2:00 PM ET (11:00 AM PT)

So, you’ve realized some of your imports from China are going to be subject to the new Section 301 tariffs—which will be 10 percent now, and up to 25 percent by January 2019. There are a variety of strategies to help your company avoid or reduce the impact of the tariffs—many of which could have an enduring benefit for your company beyond these specific tariff increases. Join the United States Fashion Industry Association (USFIA) and Mary Jo Muoio, Senior Vice President of USFIA Customs Broker Partner GEODIS USA, to get the customs broker’s perspective on how to deal with tariff increases. Mary Jo will draw from her many decades of experience as a savvy customs broker in the industry, as well as her intel from U.S. Customs & Border Protection, to help you save your company money on duties in the immediate- and long-term.

USFIA Members/Affiliates & GEODIS USA Clients: $0

Non-Members: $95

Click here to register for The Broker's Perspective.

How to Fight the Trade War: Triage Your Supply Chain

October 11, 2018 at 2:00 PM ET (11:00 AM PT)

Are the new 10-25 percent tariffs on Chinese imports hitting your products in advance of the upcoming holiday season? It’s possible to get some reprieve—from these new duties, and others—if you think creatively to triage your supply chain and take advantage of duty-savings initiatives. Join the United States Fashion Industry Association (USFIA) and Laura Rabinowitz, Special Counsel at USFIA Associate Member Kelley Drye & Warren LLP, for a webinar covering a variety of smart strategies to save money in your supply chain. Laura will draw from her decades of experience handling international trade projects for a wide range of clients, as well as her depth of knowledge regarding global customs law, to cover topics including First Sale, drawback, temporary importation bonds (TIBs), bonded warehouses, shipping in-bond, and American Goods Returned, among other ideas.

USFIA Members/Affiliates & Kelley Drye Clients: $0

Non-Members: $95

Click here to register for Triage Your Supply Chain.

USFIA: New Tariffs on China Won’t Bode Well for Skirting Trade War

Following our testimony at USTR’s Section 301 hearing on new tariffs on China, USFIA President Julia Hughes published an op-ed in Sourcing Journal, New Tariffs on China Won’t Bode Well for Skirting Trade War. She writes,

While no one knows what the next executive order, or tweet, will bring in terms of trade policy, those of us in the fashion industry do know a trade war with China—and specifically, new tariffs on fashion and apparel products manufactured in China—will raise prices for American families, harm jobs in the United States, and won’t do anything to solve concerns about China’s IP policies and practices.

In 2017, U.S. apparel imports grew just over 3 percent in volume and about 1 percent in value. China remains the dominant supplier of these products, supplying 49 percent of total textile and apparel products, and just over 40 percent of apparel, without any clear contender to replace China should the much-hyped trade war become reality. (The No. 2 supplier of apparel, Vietnam, is far behind, shipping just 13 percent of our apparel products.)

Click here to read the op-ed on the Sourcing Journal website.

VN Express: Producers in China eye Vietnam in wake of US tariffs

By Minh Nga

In its annual “Fashion Industry Benchmarking Study” released in July, the U.S. Fashion Industry Association said while 100 percent of respondents currently source from China, around 67 percent plan to somewhat decrease their sourcing value or volume from the country over the next two years, a significant increase from 46 percent in 2017.

A study done in April and May of nearly 30 leading fashion brands, retailers, importers, and wholesalers, including some of the largest brands and retailers in the U.S, also found concerns about the trade tensions that seem to have more of an impact on decisions to shift sourcing from China.

Click here to read the entire article on the VN Express website.

Vogue Business: How fashion and beauty are preparing for triple-threat tariffs

'Trump Majeure' clauses are among the ways brands are navigating the uncertainty of US trade policy as new duties on imports from Mexico, Canada and China go into effect.

Jessica Binns | February 3, 2025

On Saturday, President Donald Trump signed executive orders imposing tariffs on China, Mexico and Canada, the US's largest trade partners, under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA). To go into effect on 4 February, the tariffs will impact a third of all goods shipped into the US - including clothing, footwear and beauty products....

All of this will impact the fashion and beauty industries, both in the US and outside of it, with consumers likely to bear at least some of the brunt. (US customers of Canadian retailers like Ssense and Artizia were already questioning how the changes would impact their orders; thanks to the de minimis loophole closure, they could end up paying more in taxes.) Many brands and retailers began preparing for the tariffs when they were first proposed last year, but how prepared are they?

...

Trump has indicated that his focus is on revitalising domestic manufacturing rather than targeting consumer products, notes Julia Hughes, president of the United States Fashion Industry Association. "Maybe that means that the tariff battles will focus on other products since there already are very high tariffs on apparel and footwear," she says, referencing the current Section 301 tariffs, which apply a 7.5 to 25 per cent rate to many types of China-born clothing and shoes. "But we're waiting to see."

Vogue Business: New US tariffs throw fashion's supply chain into turmoil

Trump's 'Liberation Day' tariffs could reshape the fashion industry as we know it. Here's what's at stake.

Jessica Binns | April 3, 2025

In less than three months, President Donald Trump has upended global trade with a wave of tariffs aimed at allies and adversaries alike, stoking fears that the escalating dispute could spiral into a full-blown trade war and push the US economy toward recession. Now, he’s announced reciprocal tariffs on more than 180 countries and territories — an unprecedented move that could amount to a no-holds-barred assault on the global flow of goods.

For the fashion industry, with its deeply entrenched, Asia-centric supply chains, the stakes couldn’t be higher....

Despite years of strategic decoupling to reduce an overreliance on Made in China, fashion remains deeply exposed to Asia, leaving many brands vulnerable to the latest trade disruptions. Last year, more than 60 per cent of apparel imports into the US came from China, Vietnam and Bangladesh, the world's top three clothing producers, says Julia Hughes, president of the United States Fashion Industry Association (USFIA).

While Vietnam is also subject to tariffs, viable production alternatives remain limited, making it a desirable option for brands looking to lower their costs. Shifting
manufacturing is not an overnight solution — production schedules require four to six months of planning, and capacity constraints present a significant challenge. In the short term, relocation options are scarce.

Bangladesh has some capacity to absorb the overflow from shifting supply chains, but persistent concerns around labor conditions, safety, and political unrest make it a less attractive alternative, according to Vincent Quan, associate professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology (FIT). Brands are acutely aware of the reputational risks tied to sourcing decisions, and few are willing to invite scrutiny or negative press.

It’s unclear whether Trump intends these reciprocal tariffs as a bargaining chip or a long- term strategy. “It seems that some in the administration say the tariffs will be used to negotiate access to foreign markets, which means they could go away soon,” Hughes notes. “Or are these tariffs part of a long-term strategy to bring manufacturing back to the US?”

Vogue Business: What the US-India Trade Deal Could Mean for Fashion's Supply Chains

On a 6 February deadline, Vogue Business reports on the recent US-India trade deal.

Jessica Binns| February 6, 2025

The following is an excerpt....

India's appeal as a sourcing destination extends beyond tariffs, and industry data suggests the country was already gaining ground before last year's disruption. According to the U.S. Fashion Industry Association's 2025 Fashion Industry Benchmarking study, 77% of surveyed US Fashion Brands and retailers reported sourcing from India in 2025, with another 60% planning to expand sourcing through 2027.

Read the full article here.

Vogue Business: Where tariffs stand now

On 1 August deadline, Vogue Business breaks down tariffs by country and what the rates mean for fashion.

By Madeleine Schulz | August 1, 2025

The following is an excerpt....

Now in effect, tariffs remain a key concern for fashion businesses in 2025. All respondents in the US Fashion Industry Association’s 2025 Fashion Industry Benchmarking study said that one of their top business concerns is US trade policy and uncertainty around the impact of President Trump’s tariffs. More than 70 per cent of survey respondents said that the higher tariffs increased sourcing costs, squeezed profit margins and led to higher consumer prices already — and almost half report declining sales and 22 per cent have already laid off employees due to the increased tariffs.

Even so, almost two-thirds of respondents are optimistic about the five-year outlook for the fashion industry. It’s lower than last year, but a sign that a majority of sourcing executives are confident in the industry’s ability to weather the tariff uncertainty.

Washington Examiner: Business Groups Object to Trump Plans to Retail Tariffs in China Trade Deal

By Sean Higgins

"As we inch closer to a final deal, a key part must be the full and immediate removal of all added tariffs when the deal is signed. Anything that falls short of that goal would be a loss for the American people," said the ad-hoc coalition group Americans for Free Trade in a letter to President Trump Monday. The White House has imposed tariffs of 10%-25% on $250 billion worth of Chinese goods.

Will Trump's Tariffs Affect Luxury Fashion?

By Sadie Bargeron

In 2018, the Fashion Benchmarking Study of 2018 reported that China accounted for 11-30% of companies’ total sourcing value in the US, in comparison to a previous 30-50%. In short, these tariffs are causing fast-fashion brands to diversify their supply chains.

Click here to read the full article on ORDRE’s website.

WWD: Bangladesh Urged to Drop Tariffs on Safety Equipment

By Arthur Friedman

Six major trade associations in the U.S. and Canada are urging the Bangladesh government to eliminate import duties on safety equipment, which would vastly bring down the costs related to remediation in garment factories and improve factory safety.

Executives with the American Apparel & Footwear Association, National Retail Federation, Retail Industry Leaders Association, U.S. Fashion Industry Association, Canadian Apparel Federation and Retail Council of Canada wrote to Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina Wazed and said, “The elimination of these duties would greatly accelerate the current efforts to improve worker safety in Bangladesh.”

Click here to read the entire article on the WWD website.

WWD: Retail, Fashion Industries Worried by New Trump Tariffs

By Kali Hays

For now, Canada and Mexico, the other countries involved in NAFTA, are exempt from the steel and aluminum tariffs.

But the macro effects of the tariffs are also a concern and a spokeswoman for the U.S. Fashion Industry Association said, “We know these tariffs will be catastrophic for the U.S. economy and jobs.”

“We’re not being partisan or subjective, it’s trade policy 101, and we can expect widespread net job loss in the U.S. as a result, according to early studies, not to mention regressive taxes on American consumers,” the spokeswoman said. “While our members don’t import a lot of steel and aluminum, these tariffs could result in disastrous consequences for them.”

Click here to read the entire article on the WWD website.

Xinhua: U.S. tariffs to disrupt fashion industry, says U.S. fashion industry association chief

U.S. tariffs on imports from China will disrupt the global supply chain in the fashion industry and damage the entire sector, the head of a U.S. fashion industry association said.

"From feathers to textiles to furniture, we see disruption and uncertainty in the industry," Julie Hughes, president of the United States Fashion Industry Association (USFIA), told Xinhua during a recent interview. "In most cases, there are no alternative sources of supply for U.S. companies."

Click here to read the entire article on the Xinhua website.