A recent report by the U.S. Fashion Industry Association revealed the U.S.-China trade war has pushed U.S. companies to reduce how much they source from China. Up by more than 15% from 2018, 83% said they plan on reducing their sourcing from China. The companies also cited U.S. protectionism and rising production costs as some of the main strains on the fashion industry in 2019.
Despite the significant uptick, just less than 7% of companies plan to "reduce sourcing significantly." This could be due to Chinese vendors lowering prices—something half of respondents experienced—to not lose customers to other countries such as Vietnam.
In addition to Chinese tariffs issues, many fashion companies in the report failed to respond with a positive five-year outlook: In 2018, 84% boasted positive five-year outlooks whereas only 64% do in 2019.
—Christie Citranglo, editorial associate