For Jeans, Made in the Americas Becomes a Key Option Over Asian Sourcing
While there might not be much U.S. denim fabric or apparel manufacturing left in the U.S., the Western Hemisphere is becoming a more important alternative to Asian sourcing, particularly in light of the U.S.-China trade war and the threat of 25 percent tariffs on jeans imports from the country.
Countries such as Mexico, Nicaragua and Guatemala are leading growth in the region as a more local, faster-turn and generally duty-free option to sourcing from the Asian production giants like Vietnam, Bangladesh and Pakistan.
Denim apparel imports from the Western Hemisphere increased 13.41 percent in the first four months of the year to reach a value of $323.68 million. This represented a 27.4 percent market share of all U.S. imports of denim apparel, 97 percent of which is jeans, according to the Commerce Department’s Office of Textiles & Apparel (OTEXA). The market share gained 8.17 percent for the year through April.
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