There’s nothing more American than blue jeans and apple pie, and that stands to remain the case even amid a downturn in overall apparel imports.
Denim may have found an unexpected way to buck the downward trend that has gripped the industry over the course of the past year, according to Dr. Sheng Lu, professor of fashion and apparel studies at the University of Delaware.
To set the stage: America’s clothing imports declined by 1.7 percent in value and as much as 3.6 percent in quantity amid the heightened tariff tensions and sourcing shakeups that took hold in 2025. Lu’s research, fueled by data from the U.S. Office of Textiles and Apparel (OTEXA), revealed that the average tariff rate for apparel being brought into the U.S. market reached over 35 percent in December—a sharp increase from the 14.7 percent seen in January of last year, before President Donald Trump took office.
However, “despite the overall decrease in U.S. apparel imports, U.S. cotton jeans imports increased slightly by 1.5 percent in 2025, reversing the decline since 2023,” Lu said.
Denim’s relative success compared with other verticals like jeans and sweaters may be attributed to a surprising factor (beyond its continued appeal with consumers). Lu said that because of higher tariffs being levied on goods produced using man-made fibers, more fashion companies have intentionally shifted to importing more cotton-based products.
“Should the high U.S. tariff rates stay in 2026, and jeans be regarded as a relatively staple and necessity, U.S. imports of jeans and denim products could continue to outperform many other categories, such as dresses and outerwear, this coming year,” he explained.
America’s apparel tariff rates vary not only by country of origin but by fiber composition. “Generally, apparel made with cotton fibers will face a lower tariff rate”—Most Favored Nation (MFN) rates range between 8 percent and16 percent—“than apparel made only from man-made fibers,” the MFN tariff rates for which could be anywhere from 16 percent to 32 percent.
American fashion brands have engaged in a strategy of “tariff engineering” to mitigate duty increases, Lu said. That means they brought in more cotton apparel to avoid paying the higher duties. By quantity, OTEXA data showed that cotton apparel accounted for nearly 40 percent of total U.S. clothing imports last year, up from 38.5 percent in 2024. Man-made fiber products, by contrast, made up 56.6 percent of the apparel that made its way into the U.S. last year, a decline from the 57.9 percent seen in 2024.
Companies have also changed up their denim sourcing maps in the wake of the administration’s trade strategy, which has escalated tensions with China (again) and raised questions about the future of the bilateral trade relationship. While China used to dominate denim sourcing—and all apparel sourcing, really—“U.S. denim and jeans imports from China plummeted by over 42 percent in 2025,” Lu said.
That precipitous fall caused China to account for just 6.3 percent of overall denim imports last year, down from 11.1 percent in 2024 and far lower than the 20.3 percent seen in 2019 before the Covid-19 crisis. Over the years, a contingent of apparel and denim brands have indicated that they plan to continue to diversify sourcing and cut China’s piece of the pie down to minuscule levels. Levi’s, for example, said China sourcing accounts for just 1 percent of their apparel products sold stateside.
“There is no sign that this trend would reverse this year,” Lu said.
That’s because American fashion companies are digging into sourcing diversification to help them become more agile and apt to absorb shocks to the market—a habit they ramped up during the pandemic.
As such, U.S. denim and jeans imports from Bangladesh grew by 12.6 percent, while Pakistan (up 15.1 percent), India (up 13.3 percent), Cambodia (up 13 percent) and Jordan (up 35.4 percent) also enjoyed substantial growth.
“Notably, except for Bangladesh, which has been the top supplier since 2019, most other countries are medium-sized emerging sourcing destinations, meaning they have untapped growth potential and have already built capacity to fulfill relatively large sourcing orders at competitive prices,” Lu said. Given the “ongoing geopolitical tensions and uncertainty,” Lu believes the stage is set for countries other than China to continue to capture denim production market share.
There’s one large market that hasn’t been able to capitalize on the tariff advantages afforded to denim imports, though, and that’s the Western Hemisphere. “There is no clear evidence that the current situation has significantly benefited nearshoring for denim and jeans products,” Lu said.
Last year, denim imports from Mexico declined by 1 percent, even though apparel from Mexico was largely exempt from tariffs under the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement. Imports from Asia, which faced duties ranging from 22 percent to 42 percent, still won out.
“Two factors could explain why U.S. fashion companies did not significantly increase sourcing from Mexico. One is the much higher production costs, and the other is more limited variety options,” Lu opined.
Using an industry database, the academic tracked thousands of jeans available for sale in the U.S. from 60 leading fashion brands and retailers between Jan. 1, 2025, and Dec. 31, 2025. The results showed that on average, a pair of jeans made in Mexico was priced at around $84—almost twice as much as those made in Bangladesh, which were priced at an average of $47. Mexico-made jeans were more expensive than those made in Cambodia (averaging $57 per pair), along with Pakistan (around $51 per pair) and China ($63).
During the period of study, Lu clocked just 30 styles of Mexico-made jeans sold by the retailers in question, while Bangladesh produced about 160 different styles, Cambodia made about 130 style options, and China took the cake with 300 styles.
“Without improving the price competitiveness and diversifying the product offers, it seems challenging to significantly boost near-shoring for denim and jeans products this year, too,” Lu said.
