Latest World Trade Organisation (WTO) data indictes, clothing exports from Mexico declined by 9.9 per cent in the last ten years, to 14 billion dollars last year. The value exports fell from $5.1 billion in 2007 to $4 billion in 2017.In 2017, the sector was affected by Donald Trump’s threat to suspend the North American Free-Trade Agreement, which regulates trade relations between Mexico, Canada, and the United States.

Finally, the three governments reached an agreement to create a new agreement, the T-Mec, which has already been ratified by Mexico and is pending the green light of Canada and the United States. The entire Latin American market witnessed a decline during the period. The progress of Southeast Asia undermined the importance of this region as a productive pole for the sector. Foreign sales of clothing from this market have fallen almost every year since 2008, with the only exception of 2019 and 2011, when it was 16.4 billion dollars. The following year, exports fell again by 8 per cent, and have continued to decline until they reached 14 billion dollars last year.