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Competition heats up as Asian apparel majors chase EU gains

When US President Donald Trump introduced ‘reciprocal tariffs’ earlier this year, the global apparel industry immediately felt the impact. For those apparel makers whose business models relied heavily on the vast US market, the announcement was more than a policy shift—it was a warning shot.

Exporters from Dhaka to Delhi, Phnom Penh to Karachi, and others braced for disruption, even as many predicted that Europe would become the next big battleground, as producers scramble to make up for potential US losses by expanding their footprints in the European Union (EU).