US apparel and textiles import starting to shift

OTEXA reported YTD imports including April are up 9.3%. China continues to be the primary supplier of apparel to the US, however, there is a noticeable shift in sourcing momentum. In 2025, US apparel imports from China have seen a modest increase of 1.8 percent in April. In contrast, ASEAN suppliers have demonstrated double-digit growth, with Vietnam alone experiencing an increase of more than ten percent. Collectively, the ASEAN region now accounts for over 27 percent of US apparel imports, while China's share has decreased to 35 percent and continues to decline. On a month-to-month basis, US apparel imports from China have shown a sharp decline since the second half of 2024.

This trend indicates a strategic shift by US brands towards diversifying their sourcing to manage risk and control costs, partly influenced by tariffs. The focus in sourcing is moving beyond scale to emphasize flexibility and dependability.

The Office of Textiles and Apparel (OTEXA) reported that imports of cotton, wool, man-made fiber, silk blends, and non-cotton vegetable fiber textile and apparel products totaled 8,321.8 million square meter equivalents (MSME) in April 2025. Imports of textiles were 6,355.7 MSME in April 2025, a decrease of 3.1 percent from April 2024. Apparel imports were 1,966.1 MSME in April 2025, an increase of 11.5 percent from April 2024.

For the year-to-date (YTD) April 2025, imports of textiles and apparel reached 32,869.1 MSME, marking an increase of 9.3 percent compared to the YTD April 2024. Textile imports for the YTD April 2025 were 24,461.3 MSME, representing a 9.1 percent increase from the previous year. Apparel imports for the YTD April 2025 were 8,407.8 MSME, up 9.8 percent from the YTD April 2024.