China-US trade dispute leaves American fashion firms in fear of being stitched up
Two-thirds of companies polled in industry survey say they are planning to reduce the amount of goods they buy from China
American fashion brands and retailers are planning to reduce their reliance on Chinese apparel suppliers due to concerns over the growing trade dispute between the two countries, according to an industry report published this week.
Released on Wednesday, the “Fashion Industry Benchmarking Study” said that for the second year in a row, the “protectionist trade policy agenda in the United States” ranked the biggest challenge to the nation’s fashion industry.
Although apparel has not been included on any of the tariff lists traded or threatened by Beijing and Washington – except for a handful of niche products – the fear it might soon be has unnerved buyers, the report said.
Its author, Sheng Lu, a professor at the University of Delaware’s Department of Fashion & Apparel Studies, said firms had been spooked by the threat of tariffs and that two-thirds of them were planning to reduce the amount of goods they bought from China over the next two years.
“This does not seem to be due to concerns about cost, but rather worries about the escalating US-China trade tensions,” he said.
