Last week President Trump unveiled sweeping new tariffs that will have direct and indirect effects on all American manufacturing sectors, including the garment industry.

On the surface these blanket tariffs may appear as if they will spur more domestic manufacturing. Yes, they will make it immediately more expensive for consumers to shop for internationally-made goods. However, the tariffs will also directly affect domestic manufacturers, many of whom rely on materials and raw goods from outside America. For example, American garment manufacturers rely on other countries to produce items like buttons, zippers, many fabrics and many components necessary to create apparel. 

American manufacturers often rely on specialized equipment that is not made in America, and these necessary tools will now also skyrocket in price and stymie American manufacturing from growing and taking over new spaces, like button production. 

We’ve seen numerous news outlets report that we do not have the labor force here, but we most certainly do! An estimated 100,00 garment workers are in the United States, with the highest concentration being in Los Angeles. We have the labor, but we don’t have the investment and tools to be competitive. 

It’s clear that tariffs alone will not support domestic industries, and, as proposed, they threaten to make it even more difficult for people to do business here. We require investment in these specific, targeted ecosystems that have been long neglected and where the infrastructure and skilled labor force that we can build upon already exist. This means investment in high road, ethical businesses working to put an end to exploitative practices that ultimately affect workers. We cannot allow these tariffs to affect workers down the supply chain as cost cutting begins to take focus for corporations.

If the administration is trying to bring manufacturing to the US, it simply can’t be a race to the bottom. By severely raising costs of importing materials for not just consumers but also businesses, this policy is going to make domestic production extremely difficult, if not impossible, for many businesses, especially high road brands and manufacturers. Along with this self-imposed economic isolation, there will be tremendous pressure to continue and worsen bad labor practices as a cost-saving measure, when we need and what we have always advocated for is the opposite. 

Without a proper and deliberate investment in domestic manufacturing, these reciprocal tariffs  will likely have an inflationary effect on the economy as a whole and adverse effects on the local businesses who have been operating here for years. This, of course, is compounded with the assault on our immigrant labor force, which only makes life harder for workers and staying in business that much more difficult for thousands of factories, manufacturers, and brands. 

What we don’t want is a return to neoliberal trade wars or corporate free-trade scams that decimated the industry in the past, and these tariffs aren’t designed to repair that harm. 

What we do need are smart tariffs tied to labor rights violations, paired with real protections for workers here and abroad.

If this country is serious about nearshoring jobs and growing domestic manufacturing, we need new and small business investments for operational needs like facility upgrades, equipment, and workforce training, economic incentives for reshoring, and robust support from all levels of government. 

Garment Worker Center will continue to stand with garment workers and our high-road business coalition to advocate for these measures. 

Visit A-RAMP.ORG for our newest initiative to spur goods made in LA. 

Tariffs alone won’t rebuild industries; workers will.