Vietnam Rises to the Forefront as Leading U.S. Fashion Provider Until July

First change in the top US suppliers. The tariff impact has begun to be felt in China, which has been hit with tariffs of, for the moment, 30% on its exports to the United States, the world’s largest consumer market.

According to the latest data from the Office of Textiles and Apparel (Otexa), U.S. imports from the Asian giant have fallen through July, allowing Vietnam to rise as the top U.S. fashion supplier.

Specifically, the data, collected by Apparel Resources, put the value of U.S. fashion imports from Vietnam between January and July of the current fiscal year at $9.5 billion. The figure represents an increase of 17.5% over the previous year, contrasting with the downward trend in imports from China, which fell by 21% to $6.9 billion.

U.S. imports from Vietnam are subject to a 20% tariff, compared to 30% for those from China

With these data on the table, the market share of Vietnamese imports over the total fashion purchased by the United States stands at 20.6% in the first seven months of the year. In turn, the weight of imports from the Asian giant was 15% at the end of July, a far cry from the 40% they held in 2010, when they reached an all-time high.

This change in the U.S. fashion supply map is a direct response to the tariff policy initiated by Donald Trump. In early April, the U.S. president’s announcement to impose across-the-board tariffs on all its trading partners shook the sector’s sourcing. The crisis was especially felt in China, which received an initial tariff of up to 145%.

The two powers have reached a temporary agreement to reduce the levy on Chinese imports to the US to 30%, while US fashion purchases from Vietnam are subject to a lower tariff of 20%.