Portuguese Textiles Defy Tariffs Showing Strong Resilience
Portuguese textile exports are demonstrating remarkable resilience against the tariffs imposed by the United States, managing to stay focused on key markets despite the challenges. Ricardo Silva, CEO of Tintex Textiles and the newly appointed president of the Textile and Clothing Association of Portugal (ATP), affirmed to Jornal Económico that exports are "falling only marginally," with a confirmed decline of less than 1%. This robust performance indicates that Portuguese production is not only maintaining its market positions but also delivering "a performance well above what is happening among competitors," according to the new ATP leader, who took office in mid-last month for the 2025-2027 term, succeeding Mário Jorge Machado.
According to data provided by ATP, which does not yet include August figures, cumulative Portuguese exports between January and June saw a minimal reduction of just 0.1% compared to the same period in 2024. The total dropped from 3.362 billion euros to 3.357 billion euros, a decrease of merely 4.2 million euros. Within this period, clothing experienced the most significant downturn, falling by approximately 1.5%. In contrast, textile imports rose by about 6% during the same timeframe, reaching 3.14 billion euros from 2.95 billion euros in the first six months of the previous year, with clothing being the largest contributor to this increase, up by around 10%.
The North American market, despite being a recent focus for Portuguese textiles, accounts for no more than 13% of total exports. Consequently, the direct impact of US tariffs on this sector is considerably lower than on others, such as wine. However, the US consumer market holds significant added value, functioning as a crucial hub for accessing neighboring markets like Canada and Mexico, as noted by the newspaper, citing ATP data. Ricardo Silva highlighted that "Exports are in line with last year," a development that defies the industry's most pessimistic expectations, particularly given the unfavorable outcomes of trade negotiations between the European Union (EU) and the US for the textile sector, a point previously raised by former ATP president Mário Jorge Machado.
Mário Jorge Machado, who also chairs the European confederation of textile industries Euratex, was recently in Paris for a critical meeting of European federations. The agenda included addressing the challenges posed by ultra-fast fashion giants like Shein and Temu, as well as the repercussions of the US tariff war, which is leading to the redirection of Asian production towards Europe. In an interview with FashionNetwork.com, Machado emphasized that European manufacturers continue to invest heavily in enhancing production processes, focusing on critical areas such as "decarbonisation, innovation, sustainability, reducing water consumption and control/regulation of chemical substances." He warned that in the face of extremely low-priced non-European products, predominantly from countries like China, Laos, or Vietnam, "the textile companies that play by the rules are the ones that disappear from the market."
Underscoring the industry's core principles, Machado articulated Euratex's philosophy: "We still believe in treaties, trade, free trade and fair trade. But we can't play this game alone: if everyone else plays their cards under the table and only the Europeans play with their cards on the table, we will lose. So we can't be naive. We have to defend our values and our industry." In this context, Euratex has already called upon the European Commission to impose the same stringent rules governing European industrial production on foreign producers selling to the European market. This measure is deemed essential to prevent the distortion of competition currently endangering the sector and its workforce.
