U.S. President Trump announced a 32% tariff on Taiwan, but the impact will be greater on traditional textile manufacturers setting up factories in Vietnam, because this time Trump will impose a 46% tariff on Vietnam, which will put even more pressure on Taiwanese textile factories. An unnamed director of a dyeing and finishing factory in Vietnam revealed to TVBS News that it is conservatively estimated that the cost of fabric factories will increase by 10%. Considering costs in the future, many Taiwanese factories may switch to importing raw materials from China and no longer use raw materials from Taiwan and Vietnam.
The director of the dyeing and finishing factory said that Trump imposed a 46% tariff in Vietnam. Although the targets of the levy are downstream export garment factories, the garment factories have bargaining power in the textile industry chain and can renegotiate prices with brands. In addition, this time a 46% tariff was imposed. The previous tariff was 17%, which is equivalent to a one-time increase of about 30%. The entire industry will start from the bottom. As pressure is exerted on the upstream, orders will be absolutely 100% affected, and the increased cost will become "shared by everyone" in the entire industry chain. Therefore, a conservative estimate is that the cost of the most upstream cloth and yarn factories will increase by at least 10%, and then affect the middle and downstream weaving factories, dyeing and finishing factories, and garment factories all the way. The final consumers may also have to absorb it.
With the additional tariffs confirmed, manufacturers must find ways to further reduce costs. The director of the dyeing and finishing factory believes that the beneficiaries of this wave of tariffs will be Chinese raw material manufacturers. The supervisor said that in terms of yarn (chemical fiber) raw materials, the price difference between the two origins in China and Vietnam is about 5-10 yuan per kilogram. If an order is for 30 tons of yarn, based on the price difference of 5 yuan, the entire order will be 150,000 yuan different. Therefore, this wave of tariffs will also make brands more conservative in placing orders and make more detailed cost considerations.
The executive said that everyone views the market prospects of the textile industry in 2025 conservatively, or at the same level as in 2024, because once the tariffs are lifted, the orders that could have been expected have made brands hesitate, making operations more and more difficult.
