The US decision to add a 10 per cent tariff to the remaining $300 billion Chinese imports on September 1, 2019, has rattled the American home textile industry. The big problem with this change is the lack of details thus far. The industry is unsure if shipments already en route that could arrive on or after September 1 would be exempt.

The tariff strategy is blamed for slowing US economic growth, creating uncertainty and discouraging investment. There is an opinion in the American industry that tariffs imposed over the past year haven’t worked, and that there’s no evidence of another tax increase on American businesses and consumers will yield new results. They say these additional tariffs will only threaten US jobs and raise costs for American families on everyday goods and have urged the administration to find new tools beyond tariffs to achieve better trade relations. An opposite opinion is that Chinese imports of finished goods into the US market have had the most significant impact and disruption on domestic textile and apparel production, investment and jobs.

Finished apparel, home furnishings and other made-up textile goods equate to 93.5 per cent of US imports from China, while fiber, yarn and fabric imports from China only represent 6.5 per cent.