Fashion brands fear Trump’s trade policies will disrupt global production chains, with risk of tariffs squeezing profits
Clothing manufacturers await Trump presidency with bated breath, worried he could spark a trade war with China and other countries and force them to choose between producing more in the US or paying import penalties
When LVMH’s chief executive officer was seen in Trump Tower’s lobby last week, the fashion industry held its breath.
Bernard Arnault runs the world’s largest luxury goods company – a sprawling empire that includes Louis Vuitton, Fendi and Dior – and here he was, meeting with a president-elect who has threatened to roil the industry with trade restrictions. Following Arnault’s sit-down with Trump, LVMH said the French company was considering expanding its production in the US.
The encounter underscores a challenging moment for apparel makers, most of which had written off America as a major source of production. Other countries manufacture 97 per cent of the clothes sold in the US, but Trump has threatened to rip up trade agreements and impose tariffs in a bid to bring domestic jobs back.
That’s led many clothing giants to freeze their overseas expansion plans – and to pay lip service at least to the idea of making more of their wares in America.
