“These significant tariff increases cannot be absorbed by US brands and retailers, as margins are already tight and leave little room to offset such dramatic cost increases. As a result, these added costs would be passed on to consumers, hurting the affordability of clothes and shoes for American families,” Beth Hughes, AAFA vice president for trade and customs policy, wrote in a letter to the ITC.
US trade body AAFA has urged the International Trade Commission not to revoke the permanent normal trade relations (PNTR) status granted to China as that would result in higher tariffs borne by US companies.
Higher tariffs on Chinese imports would constrain US firms’ ability to invest in innovation, expand operations and support US job growth, and would risk closing off commercial opportunities in China.
“At the same time, higher tariffs on Chinese imports would constrain US companies’ ability to invest in innovation, expand operations and support American job growth,’ he noted.
AAFA in its letter said that US manufacturers rely on Chinese raw materials and inputs to produce finished goods under ‘Made in USA’ initiatives. Certain textiles are only available from China at the scale required, with no viable alternatives available now.
China remains the largest supplier for the US apparel, footwear and travel goods industry, accounting for 27.26 per cent of apparel imports, 47.83 per cent of footwear imports and 36.62 per cent of travel goods imports in 2025.
“Revoking China PNTR would result in higher tariffs borne by US companies significantly raising costs, reducing Americans’ ability to purchase affordable clothing, footwear and travel goods, while straining limited US and global manufacturing capacity that cannot readily replace these imports and provoking potential retaliatory measures that could further harm US companies,” the letter read.
Many small businesses and employers may not be in a position to absorb those costs, it observed.
While these additionally costs might ultimately be manageable—by being passed along over time or addressed through other mitigation measures, including alternative sourcing—those measures take time and also involve costs, it said.
An entire class of companies would be eliminated by the existential nature of such high tariff costs.
China’s pattern of retaliation suggests that any US move to revoke PNTR would likely be met with swift and proportional countermeasures, the letter noted.
As China a major market for American goods, the loss of PNTR would not only raise prices and disrupt supply chains, but also risk closing off commercial opportunities in China, it added.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
