Quick Facts

• Average U.S. apparel import tariffs hit 35.1% in December 2025, up from 14.7% in January 2025.
• Los Angeles is home to 4,000 apparel-related businesses and over 45,000 garment workers, the highest concentration in the country.
• LA factories complete orders in 2 to 4 weeks, compared to 8 to 12 weeks for overseas factories.

The cost of sourcing apparel overseas has never been higher. Average U.S. tariff rates on apparel imports reached 35.1% in December 2025, up from 14.7% at the start of the year. For many emerging brands, that math is forcing a hard look at domestic production.

Los Angeles is the primary beneficiary. The city’s garment sector employs over 45,000 workers, houses roughly 4,000 apparel-related businesses, and contributes more than $18 billion annually to the regional economy. The LA Fashion District alone contains 5,000-plus businesses, from single-person sample rooms to full production facilities.

Major brands are absorbing significant tariff hits. G-III Apparel expects $155 million in additional tariff costs. Tapestry faces $160 million in added expenses. Victoria’s Secret projects $100 million in 2025 costs alone. American Eagle anticipates $20 million in Q3 impacts, rising to $40 to $50 million by Q4.

The tariff structure hits key sourcing countries hard. Vietnam faces a 46% rate, Cambodia 49%, Bangladesh 37%, and China 34% under reciprocal tariffs imposed through the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.

Despite the financial pressure, full domestic reshoring remains rare. A 2025 Fashion Industry Benchmarking Study from the U.S. Fashion Industry Association found no clear evidence that tariff policies have moved companies toward domestic sourcing at scale. Only 10% of companies surveyed said they are increasing domestic production in response to tariffs. Around 70% reported delayed or canceled sourcing orders.

U.S. textile and apparel production actually contracted during this period. Between January and July 2025, U.S. textile production fell 6.2% and apparel production dropped 4.3%. Many brands concluded that paying tariffs remains more cost-effective than restructuring their entire supply chains.

Still, Los Angeles offers something overseas factories cannot: speed and small-batch flexibility. LA factories complete most orders in 2 to 4 weeks. Overseas factories typically run 8 to 12 weeks on the same work. For brands testing new products or reacting to demand signals, that gap is decisive.

The city’s infrastructure is unusually dense. Within a few blocks in the Fashion District, brands can access fabric suppliers, pattern makers, sample studios, trim vendors, and production facilities. That concentration lets early-stage brands move from concept to finished goods without the freight risk, currency exposure, or lead time uncertainty of an overseas supply chain.

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics counted 16,900 cut-and-sew apparel manufacturing jobs in the Los Angeles metro area in 2025. The city’s garment sector accounts for 83% of total domestic cut-and-sew apparel sales.

For emerging brands, the calculus is increasingly practical. Short production runs allow brands to test customer response before committing to volume. LA’s infrastructure supports those small runs in a way that most overseas factories, built for scale, do not. The combination of reduced tariff exposure, faster reorder cycles, and production visibility gives local sourcing a competitive case that goes beyond price per unit.

The broader apparel import market puts this in context. Apparel represents about 2.5% of total U.S. imports but generated more than 15% of total U.S. tariff revenue in 2024, roughly $11.9 billion in duties paid by fashion companies. As that number climbs, Los Angeles’s role as a domestic production alternative is likely to grow with it.

Read more: As global sourcing gets harder, LA’s apparel infrastructure gets more valuable