"Apparel orders to US steady, prices drop", 2 November 2025

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Sri Lanka...was slapped with increased tariffs from the US which is currently at 20 per cent. But the real change is hopefully expected early next year when most countries like Vietnam are pushing for the US to move out of tariff stacking.

Sri Lanka like the rest of its competitor nations in the global apparel industry have had to pay high tariffs as apparels face a number of tariffs on a single product...

This means that certain products like cotton T-shirts and synthetic T-shirts face different tariffs and these are all added to the overall tariffs imposed on apparel.

Buyers are said to be currently requesting for lower prices and sharing of the tariffs with the supplier...

This has led to prices dropping by about 5-10 per cent but suppliers point out that in order to do so they will also be ensuring the orders from the fabric suppliers will be obtained at cheaper rates.

The industry is however, not facing a drop in orders. On the contrary they continue to receive orders and it is observed that future orders are also likely to sustain...