By Kate Nishimura | August 1, 2025
America’s trade policies—and the uncertainty surrounding the forthcoming tariffs—are by far the biggest anxiety drivers keeping fashion executives tossing and turning each night.
That’s according to the U.S. Fashion Industry Association’s (USFIA) 2025 benchmarking study, released this week. Of 25 leading apparel brands and retailers (most with 1,000 or more employees) surveyed from April through June, 100 percent said the country’s protectionist stance on trade and the shaky future of global relationships were the biggest challenges to their businesses.
The finding is perhaps unsurprising, given the respite-less rollercoaster of tariff talk that’s taken over screens and airwaves in recent months.
The wide-ranging impacts of President Donald Trump’s tariff regime, including “Inflation and economic outlook in the U.S. economy” and “Increasing production or sourcing cost” were cited by 80 percent and nearly 50 percent of executives, respectively, as the biggest hurdles facing their companies this year.
More than half (52 percent) said policy uncertainty in foreign countries—including potential retaliatory measures against the U.S.—were a problem.