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The old sourcing formula no longer works. In ****, labour is still critical, but it is no longer enough. The bigger story is what happened around it: the US Supreme Court’s February ** ruling that the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) does not authorise presidential tariffs; the White House’s immediate move to impose a temporary ** per cent Section *** import surcharge through July **, ****; and United States Trade Representative’s (USTR) March launch of fresh Section *** investigations covering ** economies, including several major apparel suppliers. For buyers, tariff exposure now moves margins almost as dramatically as wages do.
Europe is reshaping the equation too. Digital product passport planning and wider textile sustainability rules are still advancing, even as the EU’s Omnibus changes push Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD) compliance for companies still in scope to ****. The message is clear: cost alone will not win the next sourcing cycle. Compliance readiness, origin discipline and geopolitical resilience are now part of the low-cost brief.
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