Cotton transporters ask the US to keep textiles and clothing from Mexico without tariffs • Economy and finance • Forbes México

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Shea G. Ishee, vice president of the American Cotton Shippers Association (ACSA), asked the Donald Trump government to keep textile, clothing and clothing products manufactured in Mexico free of tariffs so that the sale of American cotton to Mexican factories is not affected.

“The United States Trade Representative (USTR) is urged to maintain tariff-free treatment for textile and clothing products that meet USMCA requirements,” said the representative of the organization based in Memphis, Tennessee.

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Tariff-free access is essential to maintain the competitiveness of American cotton compared to lower-cost Asian alternatives, the businesswoman said in a comment sent to the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), the entity in charge of consultations regarding the renegotiation of the USMCA.

“Any weakening or elimination of these provisions could jeopardize the transfer of production and jobs in North America,” he said.

ACSA-affiliated companies move more than 70 percent of U.S. cotton sold in domestic and international markets, as well as 60 percent of foreign cotton traded globally.

Donald Trump is focusing his regulatory policies to promote onshoring and nearshoring, declared Shea G. Ishee.

Nearshoring is an industrial strategy to move factories and production to other geographically close countries. This practice has been seen in Mexico with the arrival of companies from China and other Asian countries to comply with the USMCA rules, which allow them to export tariff-free to the United States and Canada.

Onshoring involves the relocation of business activity within the same country where the contracting company is located. That is to say, all companies fly from Asia to the United States.

And there “Mexico represents not only a key market to protect, but also the greatest opportunity for growth in the US cotton trade,” he said.

Tariff-free trade ensures that U.S.-grown cotton remains the primary input for Mexico’s spinning and textile industries, he noted.

He noted that there is a growing textile industry in Mexico, which depends largely on cotton imported from the United States.

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Mexican factories are very reliable partners with minimal contractual breaches, he said.

“Between August 2024 and July 2025, 100 percent of the cotton imported by Mexico was from the United States, with a total of more than 454,500 bales of American raw cotton,” he said.

“The trade relationship (under the USMCA) supports American farmers, ginners, merchants, truckers and other rural actors, so there are broad economic benefits from the robust cotton trade between the United States and Mexico,” he highlighted.

“Maintaining smooth and reliable trade in U.S. raw cotton exports to Mexico is essential to the continuity of the integrated North American textile and apparel value chain,” he added.

“The extensive market share of the United States in cotton shipments to Mexico is based on quality, consistency and cross-border logistical efficiency,” he explained.

“As the Trump administration advances its goals to improve border security and strengthen accountability in immigration policy, these efforts can also reinforce the security and integrity of legitimate trade flows, particularly for high-value agricultural products such as cotton,” he concluded.


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