The implementation of trade barriers in the Uited States – suspended for 90 days by Donald Trump, with the exception of a 10% tax for all countries except China, subject to 125% duties – is shaking the global clothing industry, particularly in Europe. While French ready-to-wear brands fear the impact of an additional 20% tax on their collections across the Atlantic, they also fear an influx of Asian-origin goods into Europe. To compensate for the likely decline in their sales in the US due to Washington's increased tariffs, industry players from Vietnam, Cambodia and Bangladesh could increasingly turn to Europe.

Faced with a structural decline in clothing consumption in Europe and an erosion of their profitability, French manufacturers and distributors expressed their concerns to the government and President Emmanuel Macron during the meeting held at the Elysée Palace on Thursday, April 3. Low-cost Asian competition, coupled with an abundance of supply, would exacerbate the difficulties facing the French clothing sector.

"It is likely that manufacturers whose usual markets are closing in the US will turn to the European Union to find new outlets and lower their prices to keep their factories running," analyzed François-Marie Grau, head of the French Federation of Women's Ready-to-Wear.

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