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Tariffs

The Textile Industry's Plea: A Sector Left Behind in the Trump Administration's Trade Agenda

Strategic Insights

— 2 min read

As the world grappled with the COVID-19 pandemic, the US textile industry played a vital role in producing critical personal protective equipment. However, despite its contributions, the industry feels sidelined in the Trump administration's trade agenda, which prioritizes sectors like steel, aluminum, and pharmaceuticals. The sector, which employed 1.5 million workers in the 1990s but now has only 470,000, is a hotbed of frustration and concern, with manufacturers questioning the administration's commitment to domestic textile production.

Key Takeaways:

  • The US textile industry has declined drastically over the past 30 years, with the sector employing about 1.5 million workers in the 1990s but now having only 470,000.
  • The industry attributes its decline to China's state-sponsored subsidies, intellectual property theft, and trade liberalization policies such as the admission of China to the World Trade Organization and the normalization of trade relations with Vietnam in 2001.
  • Parkdale Mills, a textile manufacturer with a large factory in South Carolina, produced 600 million surgical masks during the pandemic, a feat that highlighted the importance of a robust domestic textile supply chain.
  • The industry has been generally supportive of the Trump administration's trade agenda but has asked the administration to exempt textiles from the 10% universal tariff and impose even higher tariffs on Chinese fabric imports.
  • American textile manufacturers, such as Parkdale Mills and Greenwood Mills, have modernized their operations with advanced robotics and artificial intelligence, producing high-quality fibers and fabrics used in US military uniforms, work wear, and automotive upholstery.
  • The industry faces significant challenges, including low labor costs in Asia and the high cost of automation, making it unlikely that the apparel supply chain will remain domestic.
  • President Trump has expressed a focus on domestic production of computers, tanks, and microchips but has indicated that the industry is not a top priority, stating that the US can produce T-shirts and socks in other locations.

Statistics:

  • The US textile industry employed about 1.5 million workers in the 1990s but now has only 470,000.
  • 28 American textile plants have shuttered across the country over the past two years, with several of them in the Carolinas.
  • China sells six times the amount of fibers, yarns, and fabrics to customers globally than the US textile industry.
  • The US textile industry produces over 1.7 million miles of yarn every day.
  • The industry has pointed to China's nonmarket practices that allow Chinese textile manufacturers to charge artificially low prices.

Sources:

  • Peter Navarro, White House trade adviser, quoted in The New York Times article
  • Andy Warlick, chief executive of Parkdale Mills, quoted in The New York Times article
  • Kim Glas, president of the National Council of Textile Organizations, quoted in The New York Times article
  • Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, quoted in The New York Times article
  • Stephen Lamar, president of the American Apparel and Footwear Association, quoted in The New York Times article
  • Henry McMaster, governor of South Carolina, quoted in The New York Times article
  • "The New York Times" article, April 25, 2021, "A textile industry in decline, and a plea to the president"
  • "The New York Times" article, May 10, 2021, "South Carolina Textile Industry Seeks Tariffs, Aid Amid Rise of Asia"

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