Washington D.C., May 4, 2025: The United States Trade Representative (USTR) has issued a stern warning to China regarding its trade practices in the textiles and apparel sector, citing non-market policies that disadvantage American manufacturers [3, 7]. The USTR's statement comes amid growing concerns over the closure of 28 U.S. manufacturing plants in the last 22 months [3].
The USTR highlights that China's policies enable its manufacturers to offer artificially low prices, creating an unfair competitive advantage [3]. The agency also notes the increasing role of Chinese e-commerce companies, which account for over 30% of daily de minimis shipments into the U.S., allowing them to bypass tariffs [3, 7].
In 2024, the U.S. imported $79.3 billion worth of apparel, with 21% originating from China [3, 7]. The overall U.S. goods trade deficit with China stood at $295.4 billion in 2024, a 5.8% increase over the previous year [3]. Escalating trade tensions in 2025 have seen the U.S. impose a 145% tariff on Chinese goods, met with a 125% retaliatory tariff from China [2, 4, 10, 11, 16]. These measures are expected to significantly impact trade volumes between the two nations [9].