IMPORT & EXPORT
Import Scares, Supply-Chain Snares—How to Navigate Tariff Uncertainty
By Dorothy Crouch, Contributing Writer | September 19, 2025
California Apparel News asked experts in fiber, yarn and fabric: How have you navigated through proposed and implemented tariffs that impact your business from raw materials to finished goods?
World Trade Numbers Take a Hit
The World Trade Organization has downgraded its forecast for trade growth in 2013 and 2014, due primarily to the ongoing recession in Europe.
Local Ports See Mixed Cargo-Container Volumes in August
It was a tale of two ports when the tally for cargo-container volumes came in last month.
Imports Heat Up for Holidays
According to a recent National Retail Federation report, merchandise imports at the country’s major ports will be up 5.1 percent in September and 9 percent in October compared with last year.
Strategies for Saving on Customs Duties
Customs considers pockets below the waist or any type of tightening at the bottom to be “non-blouse” features. Adding pockets to a blouse can allow an importer to take advantage of the lower duty rate. Adding elastic, a drawstring, rib knitting or other tightening element to the bottom of a blouse will similarly lower the duty rate on a blouse.
Retail Imports Heat Up for the Holidays
The Holiday season means more business for the nation’s port in the next few months.
Port Traffic Expected To Improve This Fall
While the nation’s ports haven’t seen much cargo traffic lately, that should change around October, when retailers push to get last-minute merchandise in for the Holiday season.
Apparel Imports Grow as Consumers Shop Again
The Back-to-School season was just one of the reasons U.S. retailers brought in more apparel and textile goods compared with last year.
Obama Lifts Burmese Import Bans
The Obama administration made it official. Goods made in Burma, now called Myanmar, may be imported into the United States, except for rubies and jade, whose mining is controlled by the central government.
Andean Trade Pact Update
More than 20 years after it was instituted, the Andean Trade Preference Act may be headed for the bone yard.
Strategies for Reducing the Impact of EU Duties on Denim
When the European Union added an additional 26 percent duty on the import of women’s denim jeans from the U.S., the action caught many of the high-end denim manufacturers in the Los Angeles area off-guard.
U.S. Program Failing to Help Certain Apparel Production in the Dominican Republic
A U.S. government program designed to boost apparel production in the Dominican Republic and bolster U.S. fabric exports to that Latin American country fell short of expectations last year.
Hyosung Expands Creora Spandex Facility in Vietnam
In anticipation of the Trans-Pacific Partnership proposed trade agreement, spandex producer Hyosung will unveil a newly expanding facility in Nhon Trach, Dong Nai, Vietnam, beginning late summer.
Merchandise Imports to Take Off Later This Year
The first six months of this year barely saw an increase in cargo-container volumes coming through the nation’s major ports.
LA Man Convicted of Evading Duties on Imported Chinese Clothes
A Los Angeles businessman found guilty of smuggling Chinese-made clothing into the United States is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 9 in federal court.
European Tariff Hike Leads LA Manufacturers to Look for Alternative Markets and New Marketing Strategies
Premium-denim manufacturers in Los Angeles are sorting out new ways to boost their global markets
