China leads; alternatives compete. China held 27.3% of world clothing exports in 2025 (WTO), but only 13.7% of US apparel imports that year, behind Vietnam at 21.5% (OTEXA).
Is China still the default source for clothing?
Not for the US market. Clothing and apparel manufacturing is the cutting, sewing and finishing of garments, classified for trade in HS chapters 61 (knitted or crocheted) and 62 (woven). China remains the world's largest single-country clothing exporter, but in 2025 Vietnam overtook it as the largest supplier of US apparel imports, so the verdict is China leads; alternatives compete.
Per WTO World Trade Statistics Table 22, China exported $157.1 billion of clothing in 2025, or 27.3% of world clothing exports, down from 36.9% in 2010. The European Union's 30.8% is larger, but that bloc figure includes trade among EU members. Bangladesh (6.8%), Vietnam (6.5%) and Cambodia (2.0%) follow at a distance.
The US figure is different. "Apparel imports" here means the value of garments entering the United States as recorded by OTEXA, the Office of Textiles and Apparel at the US Department of Commerce, which groups apparel by its own textile category system. On that basis, China's share of US apparel imports was 13.7% in 2025, down from 20.9% in 2024, while Vietnam's was 21.5% (OTEXA data compiled by Sheng Lu, University of Delaware). US apparel imports from China fell 35.6% in that one year.
The decline is long-running. The US International Trade Commission reports that China's share of US apparel imports fell from 37.7% in 2013 to 21.3% in 2023 (USITC Pub. 5543, pp. 10–11).
The two US data sources differ. UN Comtrade, which records what each reporting country submits, puts China at 14.6% and Vietnam at 20.8% of US imports in HS 61 and 62 combined in 2025 (total $81.75 billion). OTEXA gives 13.7%. The gap comes from definitions: OTEXA uses its category system, while the Comtrade figure covers chapters 61 and 62 only. This page uses OTEXA for headline shares.
Where clothing is made in China
Trade sources commonly name the clusters below. None has been confirmed in an official or academic document, so treat the list as a starting map:
- Humen (Dongguan, Guangdong): womenswear and fashion wholesale.
- Xintang (Zengcheng District, Guangzhou): denim and jeans.
- Shaxi (Zhongshan, Guangdong): casualwear.
- Ningbo (Zhejiang): menswear and suits.
- Haining (Zhejiang): leather apparel.
- Jinjiang and Shishi (Fujian): casual and sportswear.
- Zhili (Huzhou, Zhejiang): childrenswear.
What is documented is China's depth in the inputs behind those garments. China exported $142.4 billion of textiles in 2025, 42.2% of world textile exports (WTO Table 21). USITC cites a USDA Economic Research Service estimate that China accounts for roughly 50% of world textile production capacity. That local supply of fabric, trims and dyeing is what lets Chinese factories run full-package production without importing inputs.
The same inputs supply China's competitors. In 2023 China supplied nearly three-quarters of Bangladesh's $8 billion in fabric imports and almost two-thirds (about $9.6 billion) of Vietnam's. Cambodia imports almost all its fabrics and yarns from China and Vietnam (USITC Pub. 5543).
How apparel production is organized
Garment factories sell under three production models, and their quotes are not comparable.
- CMT (cut, make, trim): the buyer nominates, and often purchases, the fabric and trims and sends them to the factory, which cuts, sews and finishes.
- FOB production model: the factory adds order processing, input procurement and merchandising on top of assembly. In apparel usage this is separate from the Incoterms® rule FOB (Free On Board, where the seller's cost and risk end once goods are loaded at the named port).
- Full-package: the supplier performs design services, pattern making, fabric and input selection, finishing, packaging and logistics.
These definitions are USITC's (Pub. 5543, p. 23). China's fabric base suits full-package work; competing origins run more often on CMT with imported fabric. Roughly 70% of Cambodian factories operate on a CMT basis and 30% on an FOB basis, according to a 2023 Cambodian government document cited by USITC.
Minimum orders
No government or academic source publishes typical minimum order quantities (MOQs) for Chinese garment factories; any figure in circulation is supplier marketing. Structurally, garment MOQs are set per style, per color and per size ratio, and they are driven more by mill minimums for fabric and trims (dye-lot and knitting-run sizes) than by sewing capacity.
Lead times
Lead time is the time between placing an order and receiving the shipment. USITC reports an industry-standard lead time below 90 days and buyer requests for shipment 15 to 21 days after order (Pub. 5543, pp. 84 and 121). No official China-specific figure exists. China shortens the input-sourcing segment because fabric is local; sampling and ocean transit take the same time as from any other Asian origin.
US labeling, safety and forced-labor rules for clothing
US law is the compliance frame here; other markets have their own rules.
- Fiber content and origin labels. The Textile Fiber Products Identification Act (15 U.S.C. 70) and 16 CFR Part 303 require fiber content, the country where the product was processed or manufactured, and the identity of the manufacturer or dealer (name or RN number).
- Care labels. The FTC Care Labeling Rule (16 CFR Part 423) requires a permanent label or tag with regular care instructions.
- Flammability. 16 CFR Part 1610 covers clothing textiles. Children's sleepwear has separate standards in 16 CFR Parts 1615 and 1616.
- Children's apparel (12 and under). The CPSIA sets a 100 ppm total-lead limit (16 CFR 1500.91(a)) and a 90 ppm limit for paint and surface coatings (16 CFR 1303.1). Dyed or undyed fibers are exempt from lead testing, but the exemption excludes textiles with treatments that are not entirely dyes, so prints, coatings, buttons, snaps and zippers need testing (16 CFR 1500.91(d)(7)). A Children's Product Certificate based on a CPSC-accepted third-party laboratory and tracking labels are required. Drawstrings on children's upper outerwear in sizes 2T to 16 that do not meet ASTM F1816-97 are a substantial product hazard (16 CFR 1120.3(b)).
- State chemical rules. California Proposition 65 warnings can be triggered by lead in trims and phthalates in prints. California AB 1817 restricts intentionally added PFAS in textile articles, and New York has a similar law; their thresholds and dates have not been confirmed against statute text for this page.
UFLPA (the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, Pub. L. 117-78) has applied since 21 June 2022. It presumes that goods made wholly or partly in Xinjiang were made with forced labor. About 85% of China's cotton comes from Xinjiang (USITC Pub. 5543, Box 4.1), which makes cotton apparel the highest-risk group, and apparel and cotton are on the enforcement task force's priority-sector list.
Tariffs on Chinese clothing, as of October 2026
Duties on Chinese apparel stack in layers, and each layer is set by the eight-digit HTS subheading. Counts below are from US Note 20 in HTSUS Chapter 99, Revision 22 (2026), and do not net out product exclusions.
| Layer | Instrument | Apparel coverage |
|---|---|---|
| MFN (column 1 general) rate | HTSUS chapters 61 and 62 | Line-specific and often high: 16.5% for cotton knit T-shirts (6109.10.00), 28.2% for certain synthetic women's trousers (6104.63.20), 32% for certain man-made-fiber sweaters (6110.30.30) |
| Section 301, List 4A, +7.5% | 9903.88.15 | 209 of 252 Chapter 61 subheadings and 359 of 395 Chapter 62 subheadings |
| Section 301, List 3, +25% | 9903.88.03 | All 19 leather-apparel subheadings in 4203; hat subheadings in 6505 |
| Section 301 forced-labor action, +12.5% | 9903.05.31, from 24 July 2026 | Products of China, subject to Annex I and II exceptions |
Some 43 Chapter 61 and 36 Chapter 62 subheadings appear on neither 2018 list. Some were likely on List 4B, which never took effect; others may have been renumbered after 2018.
On stacking, the sources read differently. The USTR notice for the forced-labor action (dockets USTR-2026-0265 and -0266) does not state how the 12.5% combines with the 2018 duties. HTSUS Chapter 99 U.S. note 52(a), however, says goods under the forced-labor headings "shall also be subject to any additional duty provided for in this subchapter", which places the 12.5% on top of List 4A or List 3.
Two layers have left the stack. The Supreme Court held on 20 February 2026 in Learning Resources, Inc. v. Trump that IEEPA does not authorize tariffs. The Section 122 balance-of-payments surcharge that followed (10% under the proclamation of 20 February 2026) expired on 24 July 2026. A secondary tracker reports that USTR continued the 2018 China actions unchanged on 7 October 2026 (91 FR 64212). A licensed customs broker should confirm the classification and the stack for any entry.
Where apparel production is shifting, and why
USITC attributes the move away from China to rising Chinese wages, buyer diversification that began in 2016 to 2018, Section 301 tariffs on apparel from September 2019, and the UFLPA from June 2022 (Pub. 5543, p. 12). Vietnam, Bangladesh and Cambodia have taken most of the share.
Two facts limit how far that shift actually leaves China. First, the fabric often does not move: Chinese mills supply most of the woven and knit fabric that Vietnam and Bangladesh sew. Second, forced-labor risk follows the cotton into those countries. Between June 2022 and June 2024, China and Vietnam were the top origins of UFLPA-detained apparel, footwear and textile cargo, with 812 denied shipments worth $15.5 million, of which Vietnam accounted for $11.4 million (USITC Pub. 5543, Box 4.1, citing CBP; data end in June 2024).
The 2026 forced-labor Section 301 action also narrows the tariff gap. It applies 12.5% to Vietnam as well as China, and 10% to Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia and Pakistan. The remaining China-specific cost is the 2018 List 4A or List 3 duty.
Common mistakes and how to evaluate an apparel supplier
- Assuming non-China origin removes Xinjiang risk. Vietnamese garments made from Chinese cotton fabric carry the same presumption.
- Comparing a CMT quote with a full-package quote. A CMT price excludes fabric and trims.
- Stretching the dyed-textile exemption to the whole garment. Prints, coatings and metal closures on children's clothing still need lead testing.
Evaluating an apparel supplier means checking documents rather than claims. Ask which production model the price reflects and which mill supplies the fabric. For any cotton or cotton-blend product, ask for traceability records back to the yarn and fiber, because that is the evidence CBP will ask the importer to produce. For children's lines, ask for test reports from a CPSC-accepted laboratory covering each print, coating and closure. Confirm that the factory knows the HTS subheading it is producing to, since knit or woven construction and fiber content set both the MFN rate and the Section 301 list.
Frequently asked questions
Is China still the biggest clothing manufacturer?
Yes, among single countries. China exported $157.1 billion of clothing in 2025, 27.3% of world clothing exports, according to WTO World Trade Statistics Table 22. Only the European Union as a bloc, including trade among its members, ships more. For US buyers the picture is different: Vietnam became the largest supplier of US apparel imports in 2025, with 21.5% of value against China's 13.7% on OTEXA data.
Why are brands moving clothing production out of China?
The US International Trade Commission cites four causes: rising Chinese wages, buyer diversification that began in 2016 to 2018, Section 301 tariffs on apparel from September 2019, and the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act from June 2022. The move is partial. Chinese mills still supply most of the fabric that Vietnamese and Bangladeshi factories sew, and the 2026 forced-labor tariff also applies to those countries.
What is the tariff on clothing imported from China?
As of October 2026, most Chinese apparel pays the MFN rate for its HTS line, plus 7.5% under Section 301 List 4A, plus 12.5% under the forced-labor Section 301 action in effect since 24 July 2026, unless an annex exception applies. Leather apparel and hats are on List 3 at 25% instead of 7.5%. MFN rates on apparel are often high, so check the specific eight-digit subheading.
What is the difference between CMT and full-package manufacturing?
In CMT (cut, make, trim) production the buyer selects, and often buys, the fabric and trims and sends them to the factory, which only cuts, sews and finishes. A full-package supplier also handles design services, pattern making, fabric selection, finishing, packaging and logistics. The two prices cover different scopes of work, so a CMT quote looks cheaper only because fabric and trims are excluded.
What labels does imported clothing need in the US?
Imported clothing needs a label showing fiber content, the country where it was processed or manufactured, and the identity of the manufacturer or dealer, by name or RN number, under 16 CFR Part 303. A permanent care label is also required under the FTC Care Labeling Rule, 16 CFR Part 423. Wool products are also covered by 16 CFR Part 300, and the goods must carry country-of-origin marking under 19 CFR 134.11.
Do I need to test children's clothing made in China?
Yes. Clothing for children 12 and under is a children's product under the CPSIA and needs third-party testing at a CPSC-accepted laboratory, a Children's Product Certificate and tracking labels. Dyed fabrics are exempt from lead testing, but prints, coatings, buttons, snaps and zippers are not (16 CFR 1500.91(d)(7)). Drawstring rules for children's upper outerwear and flammability standards also apply.
What is a typical MOQ for a Chinese garment factory?
No government or academic source publishes a typical figure, so any number quoted online is supplier marketing. Garment minimums are set per style, per color and per size ratio, and they are driven mainly by mill minimums for fabric dye lots, knitting runs and trims rather than by sewing capacity. Using stock fabric generally lowers the minimum; custom-dyed or custom-knit fabric raises it.
Sources
- World Trade Organization — World Trade Statistics, Table 22: Top 10 exporters and importers of clothing, 2025
- U.S. International Trade Commission — USITC Pub. 5543, Cambodia profile, n. 672 (citing Government of Cambodia, Industrial Transformation Map, March…
- United Nations Statistics Division — UN Comtrade database, US imports by partner, HS 61 and 62
- U.S. International Trade Commission — Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States Revision 22 (2026), Chapter 99, Subchapter III, U.S. Note 20
- Office of the U.S. Trade Representative — Notice of Actions in Section 301 Investigations of Acts, Policies, and Practices of Various Economies Rela…
- globaltextileacademy.intracen.org/blocks/itcfiles/dataProvider.php?id=3069&a…
- ecfr.gov/current/title-16/part-303
- ecfr.gov/current/title-16/section-1500.91