Global Apparel Trade Update - April 2025

Apparel Trade Insights - April 2025
The global apparel trade is witnessing a significant upswing in 2025, driven by rebounding import markets. Key trends shaping the industry include:

Shifting Supplier Landscape
- China's dominance in apparel exports is slowly eroding, creating opportunities for other players.
- India is making gains in the EU and Japan, while holding steady in the US and UK.
- Bangladesh and Vietnam are expanding their market share in the UK and EU.

Pakistan's choice to suspend all commerce with India, encompassing indirect channels via Dubai, will probably affect its own financial stability more profoundly.

Given Pakistan's considerable dependence on commercial exchange with its neighboring nations, securing alternative suppliers for crucial goods such as pharmaceuticals and organic chemicals could prove difficult.

Conversely, India's exports to Pakistan represent a minor portion of its overall export activities, totaling $455 million between April 2024 and January 2025, in comparison to India's total exports valued at $358.63 billion.

Unlocking India-Pakistan Textile Trade: Opportunities Await.

The textile trade between India and Pakistan presents an intriguing paradox. Despite both nations' significant global presence in the industry, their bilateral trade in textile and apparel goods remains limited, valued at $722 million in 2013, far below its estimated potential of $2.10 billion.

This restricted trade warrants investigation, especially given the sector's substantial contribution to their bilateral commerce.

Salil Chawla, Director at DFU Publications, speaks with Pinaki Ranjan Das, Secretary General of the Association of Synthetic Fibre Industry (ASFI), on the sidelines of the PHDCCI-hosted Man-Made Fibres Conference held in New Delhi on April 22, 2025.

Message to the MMF industry:
The MMF sector in India is on a strong growth trajectory. India is already the second-largest producer globally, after China, and there’s significant potential for further expansion.

Global Textile Supply Chains Undergo Realignment Amid Trade Tensions

The U.S. decision to impose reciprocal tariffs—even with a temporary 90-day pause for nations outside China—has sparked a major reconfiguration of global textile supply chains. The textile sector, known for its complex and globally distributed production networks, is particularly sensitive to disruptions in trade policy.

Key textile producers such as China, India, Turkey, and Indonesia are now reevaluating their strategies to adapt to the new trade environment.

In brief l

What the future holds for India's T&A sector!

Honorable Indian Finance Minister Sitharaman said that "the world currently is full of volatility, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity (VUCA), which is shifting every day in the very recent past."

Most of the textile experts back home are staying sanguine and confident that the event of recent US trade tariffs could create a supportive business environment for India’s textile industry, poised in good sense to reshape the global trade landscape/supply dynamics, putting India in a good place.

IHGF Delhi Fair-Spring 2025 Opens for an exciting sourcing season with focus on Sustainability, Handcrafted Value Additions and Artistry in a theme of all inclusive Growth & Advancement. A comprehensive showcase of Home, Lifestyle, Fashion, Furniture, Furnishing and Interiors, along with a Designer's Gallery, Artisanal Fare, Live Craft Making, Workshop, Seminars, Ramp Shows and Display Awards, create a truly enriching timeline through the four days.

The upcoming 59th edition of IHGF Delhi Fair - Spring 2025, organized the Export Promotion Council for Handicrafts (EPCH), is scheduled from 16th to 19th April 2025 at the In Expo Centre & Mart, Greater Noida.

Messe Frankfurt Trade Fairs India Pvt Ltd and Concept N Strategies has announced partnership to introduce

‘Sporttech pavilion’ – a dedicated area showcasing sports and activewear textiles and accessories under Techtextil India 2025. It is a premier platform dedicated to the rapidly expanding sports and fitness textiles at Techtextil India 2025.

This strategic alliance aims to provide a major boost to the segment aiming to showcase innovations in specialty fabrics, yarns, sportswear and gear, high-performance textiles and sustainable materials, generating remarkable opportunities for the entire textile universe, especially for sportswear brands.

Navigating Tariff Uncertainty: Implications of the 90-Day Pause on U.S. Duties and the Future of India’s Textile Sector
As global trade faces renewed turbulence, President Trump’s recent 90-day moratorium on reinstated U.S. tariffs offers India’s textile exporters a temporary reprieve—and a strategic crossroads.

This article examines both the immediate window of opportunity and the longerterm challenges that will determine India’s resilience and competitiveness in the world’s largest apparel market.

Authored by: Sanjiv Mehan, Professor at PIET, is a textile expert with 40+ years' leadership experience.

Webinar on Decoding US Reciprocal Tariffs: Challenges and Opportunities for the Indian Textile Sector PM–01:00 PM on 11^th April 2025.

The development will have huge implications for global trade and Indian businesses having export exposure of the US, especially the textile sector.

Analysis of US Reciprocal Tariffs on India and other key trading partners of USA.

In light of the prevailing microeconomic instability, DFU Publications interacted with Animesh Saxena, Managing Director of Neetee Clothing Pvt. Ltd., to gain insights on the potential near- to mid-term impact of reinstated U.S. tariffs on India’s textile sector, with a particular focus on the following areas:

Some export capacity might be shifted to the domestic market, resulting in severe competition and price drops.

Further dumping of apparel from Bangladesh, China, and Sri Lanka is also not ruled out.

Textile Code: Ethical Sourcing, Labor Rights

Code of Conduct for Prevention of Child Labor and Forced Labor in the Indian Textile Industry.

This code of conduct represents a commitment by the Indian textile and apparel industry to uphold ethical standards and worker rights by preventing child and forced labor.

It mandates adherence to local laws, international conventions, and industry guidelines, emphasizing ethical sourcing, transparency, and accountability.