President Donald Trump has embarked on an “America First” trade policy that rightly seeks to correct decades of unfair and unbalanced trade that has harmed U.S. manufacturers and workers. The U.S. textile industry fully supports this renewed focus on restoring American manufacturing, investment, and jobs. However, our industry needs critical refinements to President Trump’s approach to achieve the shared outcomes we all want to see—expanded U.S. manufacturing here at home.
The textile sector has long operated on an unlevel global playing field, yet through innovation, automation, and research and development, the industry has secured the United States’ spot as the second largest textile exporter in the world.
The industry I represent employs over 470,000 American workers throughout the textile production chain and generates $64 billion in annual shipments compiled from multiple government data sources and industry statistics .
From high performance fibers used in lifesaving personal protective equipment (PPE) and military gear, the U.S. textile sector is a core component of our economy and national defense. It supplies $1.8 billion worth of military uniforms and gear annually to the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD).
The U.S. textile industry was also a strategic partner during COVID-19, when domestic textile producers retooled production lines practically overnight to provide critical PPE for frontline workers. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s office recently acknowledged the strategic importance of the U.S. textile industry during the pandemic and to the military after a meeting with industry executives.
But uncertainty stemming from the Trump administration’s ongoing global trade negotiations, coupled with reciprocal tariffs on certain imported inputs, machinery not available in the United States, and punitive tariffs on qualifying trade from Western Hemisphere free trade agreement partners puts critical textile and apparel supply chains at risk.
The domestic textile industry relies on certain imported textile raw materials, chemicals, and dyes that were offshored decades ago and will likely never onshore for two reasons: lack of volume demand and tariff uncertainty.
Similarly, most capital-intensive textile machinery has not been made in the United States for nearly two decades. It is imperative producers upgrade to new machinery, as it is safer for employees, more energy efficient, and allows for more innovative product development.
Reciprocal tariffs on these items hurt domestic textile producers and drives offshoring, undermining U.S. manufacturing jobs and putting our national security at risk since many of these producers supply to the PPE and DOD markets. The tariffs inadvertently advantage Asia and other offshore producers by weakening textile and apparel supply chains in the Western Hemisphere.
Many domestic textile executives report a downturn in production and shuttered plants due to global trade pressure and predatory trade practices by foreign competitors. Now, they are projecting further revenue and production loss if the tariffs on these crucial inputs and machinery stay in place.
In short, the U.S. could be punishing its own producers instead of supporting them with reciprocal tariffs.
Equally important to removing reciprocal tariffs on domestically unavailable inputs and machinery is preserving duty-free access for textile and apparel imports that qualify under any existing U.S. free trade agreement with Western Hemisphere partner countries.
Over 70 percent of U.S. textile exports are shipped to Western Hemisphere coproduction partners, under free trade deals such as the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) and the Dominican Republic-Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR), helping support almost $34 billion in annual two-way trade.
Tariffs on USMCA or CAFTA-DR compliant goods will damage U.S. producers and exports and shift more sourcing back to China and Asia. Currently, all CAFTA-DR imports that utilize U.S. textile components face a penalty tariff. This approach hurts U.S. domestic producers and cotton farmers.
Trade policy must be precise and it also must be coupled with long-term certainty to benefit American manufacturers.
To truly level the playing field and bolster American made textiles, the U.S. textile industry needs the following policy refinements:
—Critical tariff carve-outs for manufacturing inputs and machinery that are not made in the United States.
—Removal of penalty tariffs on qualifying CAFTA-DR imports and preservation of the qualifying USMCA trade exemption.
—Long-term tariff certainty to encourage reinvestment and expansion.
These steps would immediately improve American competitiveness and help double the size of the U.S. textile industry in the coming years. A strategic carve-out approach would allow companies to reinvest at scale, leading to the creation of jobs and building secure domestic supply chains.
The Trump administration can further support domestic manufacturing by expanding the buy American Berry Amendment to cover all federal agencies, ensuring government procurement supports U.S. workers, and strengthening customs enforcement to crack down on transshipment and counterfeit goods and to fully enforce the executive order suspending de minimis treatment for all commercial shipments.
These are smart, America First policies that would deliver fast results.
With targeted carve-outs, strong enforcement, and a firm stance against trade cheaters, this administration can deliver a U.S. manufacturing revival. The U.S. textile industry stands ready to help get the policy right to achieve this admirable goal.
Kimberly Glas is the president and CEO of the National Council of Textile Organizations and former Commerce deputy assistant secretary for textiles, consumer goods, and materials.
The views expressed in this article are the writer’s own.
