New Tariffs Will Have Bigger Impact on Women’s Clothing Than Men’s

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Keep It Brief

The Trump administration’s next round of tariffs on Chinese imports will for the first time target an array of apparel, and those shopping for women’s and girls’ clothes are more likely to see higher prices.

The Figures

All Chinese clothing and shoes face tariffs of 10% starting Sept. 1, but the value of women’s and girls’ clothing and shoes imported from the country is more than twice that for men and boys, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis.

Some 42%, or $23.5 billion, of women’s and girls’ clothing and shoes imported to the U.S. in 2018 came from China, according to the analysis of data from the U.S. Trade Representative’s office and the Census Bureau. For men and boys, the figures were 26% and $10.9 billion, respectively.

Why?

One reason more female than male clothing comes from China has to do with how often women make purchases: Women’s fashion changes more frequently, and China’s giant apparel industry has the capability to churn out the latest trends, apparel-industry experts say. Women also spend more on clothing—and get more of their clothing from China—than men do. The average U.S. household spends about $665 annually on women’s and girls’ apparel, compared with $427 on apparel for men and boys, according to a 2018 paper published by the ITC.

The U.S. doesn’t have free-trade agreements with China and Vietnam, whose factories supply much of the clothing purchased by American women. President Trump pulled the U.S. out of a trade agreement that included Vietnam before it was ratified.

Men’s clothing often comes from countries where the U.S. has free-trade agreements, such as Mexico. That has had the effect of reducing tariffs on those imports, industry officials say.

All In

The Trump administration’s previous rounds of tariffs—which are essentially taxes at the border—have tended to avoid retail items. The coming tranche of tariffs is set to include nearly all categories of Chinese imports that weren’t affected previously, including tens of billions of dollars in annual consumer-electronics and clothing imports.

Source: WSJ