Apparel and Fashion Logistics for US Importers

The yarn-forward rule requires that, to qualify for USMCA preferential duty treatment, the yarn used in the garment must originate in the US, Canada, or Mexico, be formed into fabric in one of those countries, and be cut and sewn into a finished garment in a USMCA country. Every step in that chain has to be documented. If your Mexico-made program sources yarn or greige goods from outside the USMCA zone, the garment does not qualify and standard MFN duty applies at entry. We review USMCA eligibility at the PO stage against your bill of materials so you know the duty outcome before you commit volume.

Knitted apparel and accessories fall under HTS Chapter 61, woven apparel under Chapter 62, and footwear under Chapter 64. The classification decision turns on the garment's construction method, fiber content, and end use. Knit versus woven is the most common split error: a knit-bodied jacket with a woven panel can fall in either chapter depending on the chief weight calculation. Misclassification changes the duty rate and the Section 301 exposure, and CBP can back-assess the correct duty and issue penalties on prior shipments going back three years.

General wearing apparel, including children's daywear, must meet the flammability standard in 16 CFR 1610. Children's sleepwear in sizes 0 through 14 is subject to the more stringent requirements in 16 CFR 1615 and 1616, which prohibit treated fabrics that fail wash-durability tests and require tight-fitting construction as an alternative to flame retardant treatment. Testing must be completed at a CPSC-accepted laboratory before goods ship. CBP can hold or refuse entry for garments without test documentation, and CPSC can require a recall if non-compliant goods reach the market.

CBP reviews country of origin on apparel using the substantial transformation test: the garment must be cut and sewn in the declared country to carry that origin. CF-28 requests are issued when documentation is thin, when the declared origin does not match the shipping lane, or when the importer is flagged for a compliance review. A CF-28 is not a penalty, but failing to respond accurately and on time can escalate to a CF-29 notice of action with duty assessment or liquidated damages. We maintain country of origin documentation by vendor and shipment so responses go back to CBP within the required window.

Most apparel imported from China falls under List 4A of Section 301, which adds 7.5 percent on top of standard MFN duty. Some categories including certain handbags and leather goods fall under List 3 at 25 percent. Product exclusions were granted for a limited number of HTS codes and have been expiring on USTR schedules. We track active and pending exclusions against your PO book and flag any product where a renewal or sunset would change your landed cost before the container books.

Garment on Hanger (GOH) is a shipping method in which garments travel pre-hung on rails inside specially configured containers, arriving at the DC ready for floor or fixture placement without pressing or rehang labor. GOH is more expensive than flat-pack ocean FCL on a per-unit basis, but makes economic sense for better-moderate, contemporary, and dress categories where DC labor cost, re-pressing cost, or garment damage risk in flat-pack exceeds the freight premium. We run GOH on containers out of China, Vietnam, and Bangladesh, and coordinate rail configuration with your DC receiving team so the container spec matches your floor layout.

Vietnam to US West Coast averages 18 to 22 transit days from Ho Chi Minh City or Hai Phong into LA or Long Beach, plus 7 to 10 days for origin booking and 5 to 7 days for drayage. Bangladesh to US East Coast via Colombo transshipment averages 28 to 35 transit days from Chittagong into New York or Savannah, with the transshipment leg adding 5 to 7 days versus a direct call. Peak season, typically August through October, can extend both lanes by 5 to 10 days from vessel rolling and port congestion. End-to-end planning windows from PO to DC receipt typically run 50 to 65 days for Bangladesh and 45 to 55 days for Vietnam.

Walmart, Target, Amazon, Costco, Macy's, and Kohl's each publish routing guides that specify EDI 856 ASN transmission timing (typically 2 to 4 hours before carrier departure), GS1-128 pallet and carton label placement, ticket and hang-tag format, and packaging standards. Non-compliance triggers chargebacks ranging from $100 per occurrence for label errors to 3 to 5 percent of the invoice amount for late ASN or routing non-compliance. We load each retailer's current routing guide into the account at onboarding and update it when guides change, so compliance runs at origin rather than getting corrected at the DC.