United States (US) recorded an 11.93 per cent year-on-year decline in textile and apparel import volumes across all fibre types during January–March 2026. Imports totalled 21,652.978 million square metre equivalents (SME), down from 24,585.140 million SME in the corresponding period of 2025, according to data from Office of Textiles and Apparel.
During the period, apparel imports declined by 12.24 per cent to 5,650.399 million SME from 6,438.179 million SME in January-March 2025. Imports of textiles (non-apparel) reached 16,002.578 million SME in January- March 2026, marking a decline of 11.82 per cent compared with 18,146.960 million SME in the same period of 2025.
The import volume of cotton products fell by 13.12 per cent to 3,861.604 million SME during the review period, compared with 4,444.974 million SME a year earlier. Meanwhile, imports of man-made fibre (MMF) products decreased to 17,196.471 million SME in January- March 2025, down from 19,494.993 million SME in January- March 2025.
US exports of textiles and apparel made from all fibre types declined by 8.93 per cent to 491.562 million kilograms during the review period, compared with 539.743 million kilograms in the first three months of 2025. Apparel exports increased by 9.28 per cent to 185.026 million kilograms. In contrast, fabric exports fell by 16.87 per cent to 147.974 million kilograms, while yarn exports dropped by 20.04 per cent to 170.180 million kilograms.
The US textile and apparel trade in 2025 reflected a broad-based slowdown after a strong rebound in 2024. Total imports declined by 5 per cent to 101,256.313 million SME from 106,589.398 million SME in 2024. The contraction was seen across segments. Apparel imports had fallen 3.62 per cent to 24,814.803 million SME, while non-apparel textile imports dropped 5.44 per cent to 76,442.254 million SME. By fibre, cotton imports declined 1.56 per cent to 16,885.023 million SME, while MMF imports decreased more sharply to 81,940.152 million SME from 86,983.217 million SME.
