The main textile associations in North America have urged U.S. President Donald Trump not to impose a 25% tariff on textile and apparel imports from Mexico and Canada. They also requested closing the legal loophole that allows products to enter the U.S. duty-free when their value is under $800.
In a joint statement, the National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) of the United States, the National Chamber of the Textile Industry (CANAINTEX) of Mexico, and the Canadian Textile Industry Association (CTIA) warned that this measure would impact a co-production chain that generates $20 billion in annual trade and supports more than 1.6 million jobs in the region under the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).
The reaction from North American textile organizations came quickly to prevent the implementation of this measure after U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick hinted that tariffs would be imposed on Mexico and Canada in the coming days unless progress is made in the fight against fentanyl.
According to Kim Glas, executive director of NCTO, "imposing punitive tariffs on imports from critical free trade agreement (USMCA) partners will only benefit China and other Asian countries that do not play by the rules and will harm the U.S. textile industry and manufacturers in our Western Hemisphere supply chains." Meanwhile, Rafael Zaga Saba, president of CANAINTEX, warned that the Asian market has gained an "unfair advantage" through "predatory trade practices," affecting North America's competitiveness and displacing jobs in the region.
The associations also demanded the elimination of the tariff exemption that allows imports valued under $800 to enter the U.S. without paying taxes, as this "legal loophole" is harming the textile and apparel industries in Mexico and Canada, benefiting countries like China and facilitating the entry of illegal products into the country.
The impact of these tariffs could reverberate not only in the textile industries but also in the automotive, medical device, and agricultural sectors, which depend on the trade integration of the USMCA. Various sectors have spoken out against this imposition of tariffs.
