The collapse this thaw leaves untouched
The tariff regime that the new Board of Trade preserves has already reshaped US-China textile trade at a scale most policy commentary understates. TexPro customs data show US imports of Chinese textiles and apparel (HS Chapters **–**) fell to $*.** billion in Q* ****, down **.* per cent from $*.** billion in Q* ****. That is a $*.** billion contraction in a single quarter. Apparel recorded the steepest decline. Knitted garments (HS **) shed **.* per cent year-on-year and woven garments (HS **) fell **.* per cent, together erasing $*.** billion in quarterly shipments. Home textiles and made-ups (HS **) including bedding, towels and curtains, lost **.* per cent. Extrapolating Q* **** to a full year implies a $**.* billion annualised run-rate against $**.* billion for calendar ****, signalling a further ** per cent contraction versus **** at the current run rate.
Why textiles were designed out
The exclusion is deliberate, not accidental. The Board of Trade is engineered to release politically saleable trade soybeans, sorghum, Boeing aircraft, and LNG, where tariff relief delivers a headline win for US farm belts and export manufacturers. Textiles offer the opposite calculation. The US textile lobby, led by the National Council of Textile Organizations and yarn and fabric producers in the Carolinas and Georgia, has spent two decades framing Chinese apparel imports as a threat to domestic jobs. Cutting Section *** duties on HS ** or HS ** would generate immediate political blowback without an equivalent export benefit.
