After reaching a record-high apparel import value of US $99.93 billion in 2022, the United States has experienced a decline in its apparel imports, both in terms of value and volume, on a yearly basis.

According to data released by the Office of Textiles and Apparel (OTEXA), the country imported US $7.27 billion worth of apparel in the first month of this year, representing a 3.44% decline on a yearly basis. However, imports increased by 9.16% compared to December 2022 when the country imported US $6.66 billion worth of apparel.

All major apparel export destinations experienced a substantial decrease in their volume-wise shipment to the United States in January 2023 on a year-over-year basis. However, India, Bangladesh, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka increased their apparel shipments to the United States in value terms. India exporting US $485 million (up 9.77%) and Indonesia were valued at US $453.84 million (up 4.73%) worth of garments to the United States.

China's share of the apparel import value declined to 19.83%, possibly for the first time ever in the first month of a calendar year. Despite the decline, China secured its top rank with US $19.33 billion worth of garments entering the United States from the Asian giant, growing at a rate of 20.76%. However, the value-wise share has come down to 22.19% from 23.92% a year earlier.