According to the US Department of Agriculture, value-added industrial output has fallen back to “pre-recession levels”, and continues to lose out in terms of share of GDP. “Rural employment in textiles and apparel experienced the strongest decline between the years 2001 and 2015; nevertheless, the three relevant sub-sectors (textile manufacturing, textile product manufacturing and apparel manufacturing) account for a relatively small percentage of rural manufacturing jobs (3% in 2015 compared to 9% in 2001),” wrote the US Department of Agriculture.

The phenomenon is causing a whole series of issues. US textile manufacturers, just like their European counterparts, are faced with difficulties in recruiting qualified workers, as the textile industry struggles to attract personnel. This also contributes to slowing down the relocation of output, while costs in Asia are on the rise.

This affects rural regions in particular, since non-metropolitan areas account for a higher share of US textile industry output than do metropolitan areas. In the last few years, fears have grown about the long-term impact of a vicious circle, as the lack of output capacity causes a gradual decline in orders, leading to manufacturing facilities which are technologically obsolete.

Last year, the textile supply chain generated some 565,000 jobs. The sector mostly depends on textile and apparel imports, which reached $74.4 billion, growing by 11%, while exports are only 26.3%. An imbalance which the US government intends to redress by burying the Transatlantic Free Trade Agreement and threatening North American trade deals.