Trump doesn't see a need to bring back textile manufacturing to the US

President Donald Trump has stressed that his US tariff policies, impacting global trade and supply chains across several industries and financial markets, are intended to encourage and support domestic manufacturing of advanced technology and defense equipment, not consumer goods like t-shirts or sneakers.

Talking with reporters prior to boarding  Air Force One in New Jersey last Sunday, Trump said that he "tended to agree"  with comments made by Secretary Scott Bessent on April 29 that the US does not necessarily need to bring back textile manufacturing.

"I'm not looking to make T-shirts, to be honest. I'm not looking to make socks. We can do that very well in other locations," said Trump to reporters in New Jersey on May 25, reported Reuters. "We want to make military equipment. We want to make big things. We want to make, do the AI thing. We are looking to do chips and computers and lots of other things, as well as tanks and ships."

His comments have drawn feedback and criticism from American manufacturers, textile organizations, and producers of fibers, yarn, and other woven fabrics, including the American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA), who stressed that additional tariffs would only negatively impact the industry.  

"With 97 percent of the clothes and shoes we wear being imported, and with clothes and shoes already the most highly tariffed industry in the US, we need to focus on common sense solutions that can move the needle," said Steve Lamar, president of the AAFA, in a statement. "More tariffs will only mean higher input costs for U.S. manufacturers and higher prices that will hurt lower-income consumers."