This support from the US and Mexican textile associations follows the American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) urging Mexico to pause its newly implemented tariffs and engage with stakeholders promptly.
On 19 December 2024, Mexico Economy Minister Marcelo Ebrard revealed the increase of import tariffs on various apparel, textile products, and inputs by as much as 35%. However, products qualifying under the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) will be exempt from these tariffs, which will remain in effect until 22 April 2026.
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In a joint letter addressed to Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, the textile trade groups praised the decree that enforces additional tariffs and taxes on imports of finished textile and apparel goods, as well as certain raw materials from countries outside of Free Trade Agreements.
The associations believe these measures are pivotal in safeguarding regional supply chains and ensuring equitable competition within the US and Mexico.
The decree also addresses the exploitation of the US “de minimis” trade provision, which has been manipulated by entities importing goods into the US from Mexican warehouses to circumvent tariffs.
This loophole has inflicted considerable damage on textile and apparel manufacturers across both nations. The associations are urging the incoming Trump administration to close this loophole without delay.
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By GlobalDataFurthermore, the decree signals an end to a Mexican programme that previously permitted Chinese and other e-commerce suppliers to dispatch goods to warehouses in Mexico. These goods would then be repackaged and shipped directly to US consumers, thereby dodging Mexican tariffs while gaining duty-free entry into the US for products originating from China and other Asian nations.
The strategic placement of these warehouses, particularly along the US border, has been implicated in significant job losses.
NCTO and CANAINTEX jointly wrote: “Despite the legal efforts of Mexico and the United States to prevent the importation of goods that are undervalued, made with forced labour or with tariff or regulatory restrictions, we have seen first-hand how the Asian market has gained an unfair advantage through predatory trade practices, displacing companies and workers in the USMCA industries and undermining our critical coproduction chain. The textile and apparel co-production is vital to supporting hundreds of thousands of jobs and ongoing investments in Mexico and the US.”
The past year and a half, US textile producers have seen the closure of 25 plants and a reduction of 26,000 jobs, while Mexico’s industry has experienced over 75,000 job losses. These losses are attributed largely to predatory trade practices by countries not party to the USMCA, such as China, the associations noted.
NCTO, which is based in Washington, DC and represents US domestic textile manufacturers, highlighted significant industry statistics for 2023, including employment figures in the textile supply chain standing at 501,755 and textiles and apparel shipments valued at $64.8bn. US exports across fibres, textiles, and apparel stood at $29.7bn with capital expenditures totalling $2.27bn in 2021.
CANAINTEX, based in Mexico City, represents the interests of Mexican textile producers and highlights the sector’s strong performance. With over 1.2m jobs supported by the industry and Mexican textile exports projected to reach $10bn in 2024.
Mexico ranks as the fourth-largest textile exporter to the US with a significant 36% domestic content, positioning the sector as one of the most value-added manufacturing industries in the country.
