End-of-Year Export Target to the U.S. is $1 Billion
After the U.S. increased tariffs on Chinese imports, the Turkish ready-to-wear sector has turned its focus to the American market. The industry aims to surpass $1 billion in exports to the U.S. by the end of 2025.
The Turkish ready-to-wear sector is preparing to turn shifts in global trade into an opportunity. In response to the high tariffs imposed by the U.S. on Chinese products, the sector is aiming to fill the resulting gap by setting an export target of exceeding $1 billion to the U.S. market by the end of 2025. Under the leadership of the Aegean Ready-to-Wear and Apparel Exporters’ Association (EHKİB), 12 Turkish companies participated in the PV Manufacturing New York Fair held on July 15–16 as part of a national participation effort, with the goal of establishing new business connections in the U.S.
First National Participation After Two Years
Burak Sertbaş, Chairman of the Board of the Aegean Ready-to-Wear and Apparel Exporters’ Association, stated that they decided to organize a national participation in the PV Manufacturing New York Fair after a two-year break to gain a $1 billion share from the U.S.’s $102 billion apparel imports in 2024.
Sertbaş highlighted that the recession in the European Union — the main export market for the ready-to-wear sector — is expected to continue into 2025. He added, “High inflation and low exchange rate policies in Turkiye have further strengthened the country’s image as an ‘expensive’ production hub globally. Currently, we are about 40–50% more expensive than our competitors in Egypt and the Far East. Despite all these challenges, we must demonstrate that we continue production in our export markets. The U.S. market also aligns with the Ministry of Trade’s ‘Distant Countries Strategy.’”
U.S. Is the World’s Sixth Largest Market
Tala Uğuz, Board Member of the Aegean Ready-to-Wear and Apparel Exporters’ Association and Chair of the Foreign Market Strategies Development Committee, shared that exports of ready-to-wear and apparel to the U.S. reached $395 million in the first half of 2025 — a 1% increase compared to the same period in 2024. He emphasized that the U.S. ranked as the sixth-largest market for the ready-to-wear sector in 2024.
Uğuz noted that 10 companies from Izmir and 2 from Istanbul participated in the fair, saying, “With our National Participation Organization by EHKİB, we brought 12 participating firms together with U.S. clients for one-on-one business meetings at a centralized fair location. We enlisted a specialized company for business matchmaking services. A PR agency also worked on inviting suitable U.S. buyers to the fair on behalf of our firms. Over the course of the two-day fair, we conducted more than 100 business meetings.”
Uğuz added that the Aegean Ready-to-Wear and Apparel Exporters’ Association is planning to organize national participation for the PV Manufacturing Paris and Munich Fabric Start the Source fairs in September and the Fashion SVP fair in London in November. He concluded by saying that by the end of 2025, they will have led the participation of 80 companies in 6 fairs across 4 countries.
