US-China relations: forced labour to keep pressure on Chinese textile firms as American firms cut orders

Last year, China’s share in the US apparel market fell to a decade-low of 23 per cent when measured by value

The US has effectively banned all products made in part or entirely from cotton made in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region, including textiles and apparel

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Only 15 per cent of US cotton apparel came from China last year, down from 22 per cent in 2019, while imports of cotton textiles from China dropped by 4 percentage points to 27 per cent last year. Photo: Bloomberg

Published: 7:15pm, 16 Feb 2021Updated: 7:28pm, 16 Feb 2021

The trend of US companies reducing their exposure to China’s textile and clothing suppliers has become a shift that is unlikely to reverse under the Biden administration, with Washington remaining committed to combating forced labour issues, according to trade data and an industry expert.

Last year, China’s share in the US apparel market fell to a decade-low of 23 per cent when measured by value, according to data from the Office of Textiles and Apparel under the US Department of Commerce.

In contrast, the combined market share of China’s major competitors in Asia, including Vietnam, Bangladesh, Indonesia, India and Cambodia, rose to a new high of more than 42 per cent in 2020, up 7 percentage points from year earlier.

Apart from the widespread impact from the coronavirus pandemic and a slew of punitive trade tariffs imposed by Washington on Chinese goods since 2018, a stream of US bans and restrictions on cotton products made in the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region over its alleged forced labour issue have also played a major role in China’s shrinking shipments of clothing and textiles to the US last year.

We shall not underestimate the impact of non-economic factors on China’s prospect as an apparel-sourcing destination in 2021

Sheng Lu

While China’s total textile and apparel exports to the US dropped by more than 30 per cent last year from a year earlier by value, its shipments of cotton related items to the US dropped by nearly 40 per cent, according to the US government data.

Specifically, only 15 per cent of US cotton apparel came from China last year, down from 22 per cent in 2019, while imports of cotton textiles from China dropped by 4 percentage points to 27 per cent last year.

“We shall not underestimate the impact of non-economic factors on China’s prospect as an apparel-sourcing destination in 2021. Notably, the reported forced labour issue related to Xinjiang, China, and a series of actions taken by the US government have significantly affected US cotton apparel imports from China,” said Sheng Lu, an associate professor of fashion and apparel studies at the University of Delaware.

“The new Biden administration has expressed its commitment to improving human rights and labour standards in international trade.