Ready-to-Wear Exports to the US Could Increase 10 Times
IHKIB Vice President Mustafa Paşahan said, “The US imports an average of 100 billion dollars of ready-to-wear every year, and if our share increases to 10%, our exports can be 10 billion dollars.”
According to data compiled by Anadolu Agency from the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TIM) data, Ready-to-Wear and Garment exports amounted to 2 billion 770.5 million dollars in the first 2 months of this year. Foreign sales of the Ready-to-Wear and Garment sector to the US reached 135 million dollars in the second month of the year.
While the sector exported 17 billion 920 million dollars worth of ready-to-wear to 213 countries throughout 2024, exports to the USA were 856 million dollars. During the said period, the USA’s share in the sector’s exports was recorded as 4.8%.
IHKIB Vice-President Mustafa Paşahan said that the textile and garment sector needs 1.5 million tonnes of cotton a year and explained, “We provide half of this from our own resources and the other half through imports. Of the 750,000 tonnes of cotton we import, we get about 400,000 tonnes from the USA.”
“The USA is An Important Market for the Sector”
Reminding that the US imposes a tax of 16 to 32% on ready-to-wear products imported from Turkiye, Paşahan said: “There is an average tax of 25% on the products we export, so if I send a product for 10-12.5 dollars, it would drop to 10 dollars if there were no taxes. That means it will have fallen by 25%. Therefore, our cooperation with America should be done in this way. We will be sending the 400 thousand tons of cotton we buy from America to America as ready-to-wear exports, duty-free. This way, a 25% discount will be provided on prices and we will be more competitive in terms of price, so we can easily keep our prices. If we organize our exports to the US in this way, we will increase our ready-to-wear exports, which are currently $856 million, by 10 times to levels close to $10 billion in 2024. We have completed our work and forwarded our file to the relevant ministries.”
“We Must Now Determine a New Roadmap”
Paşahan stated that US President Donald Trump’s initiation of trade wars and plans for additional customs duties in the European Union (EU) could negatively affect the sector’s exports, and said: “”Since 70% of our market is Europe, we will inevitably be affected, but I am not involved in the matter. Turkiye has been exporting ready-to-wear since 1980. In essence, these taxes can be imposed today and removed tomorrow, no problem. We must now determine a new roadmap.”
Noting that Turkiye’s geopolitical location is close to Europe and can quickly supply many countries in the region, Paşahan said, “As a sector, we have an export of almost $20 billion. We have an advantage over other manufacturing countries in many ways. We are in an important position both in terms of quality and design. If the exchange rate is balanced against cost increases, it is not difficult for us to reach the figures that our sector has seen in the past. The foreign customers we have been working with for many years are price-oriented. While our labour costs were around 650-700 dollars in 2022, they are currently between 1300-1500 dollars. If we cannot reduce these costs below $1000, we will not be able to compete with companies that produce in other countries.”
Paşahan, reminding that they are constantly collaborating with Turkish brands to expand abroad, said, “We have nearly 4 thousand stores and over 10 thousand sales points in 100 countries. Today, we have come to an important place in branding, but we can go even further.”
