Perspectives are varied, and it is not an open-and-shut case against US Prez Donald Trump as his political opponents would have us believe. The tariff calculations could be questionable and the unilateral announcement should be decried, but what’s amply clear is this: trade will never be the same again.
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A View of the Home Front
The Trump announcement has been widely lambasted and lampooned by his political detractors.
Three brand-driven industry associations—Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA), American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA), United States Fashion Industry Association (USFIA)—have expressed apprehension over how this would affect industry. None of them think that the new tariffs will help domestic manufacturing, and that these would only render matters worse.
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The USFIA feels this will adversely affect American fashion brands and retailers.
“Some of the major suppliers for U.S. imports and the major customers for US exports are targeted with the substantial ‘worst offender’ tariffs. The fashion industry depends on global supply chains more than perhaps any other sector of manufactured goods. For instance, a bale of cotton might be grown in Texas, shipped to Europe to be spun into yarn, sent to Korea for fabric production, then to Vietnam for garment assembly, and finally to the US for retail sale—back in Texas. Additionally, these garments may be sold not only in the US but also in global markets such as Singapore, Japan, Dubai, or London.”