Insights from Sourcing Journal Experts

Lately, tariffs have become the most powerful word in the world. They are moving stock markets, upending longstanding international trade agreements, and evoking lots of confusion—and emotion—across industries. Sourcing Journal recently released its annual State of the Industry Sourcing Report, and one thing is clear: tariff turmoil has gripped the fashion sector.

In this episode, Lauren Parker, director of Fairchild Studio, chats with Kate Nishimura, Sourcing Journal’s senior news & features editor and resident tariff expert, on where things stand now, where they might be going, and all the implications in between.

And while nearshoring and onshoring have been ticking up, the uncertainty surrounding U.S. trade relationships is already interrupting the steady pace of supply chain diversification that’s been defining apparel sourcing for years.

“Countries like Vietnam, Cambodia, Indonesia, India, Bangladesh, and, of course, China, collectively made up more than 72 percent of apparel sourcing in 2024 and that number had ticked up a basis point from the year prior,” said Nishimura. “So what we can gather from that, is that the tariffs and the tariff threats that were ramping up last year, countries are more likely to stick with the sourcing that they know, rather than put in the effort and assume the risk of moving to a new sourcing destination. There’s really no safe bet anymore, so why not stick with a well-oiled machine, which is, you know, an Asian supply chain.”

To listen to this and other Sourcing Journal Radio podcast episodes, click here.