American textile manufacturers pushed back on Tuesday against Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent’s suggestion that the industry was a thing of the past, arguing that U.S. makers of apparel and fabrics should not be overlooked as the Trump administration focuses on developing more advanced sectors.
The backlash came as President Trump marked 100 days in office by highlighting what he considers his economic accomplishments and as top aides defended his aggressive use of tariffs. Mr. Bessent drew the textile industry’s ire when he said earlier in the day that Mr. Trump was interested in “the jobs of the future, not the jobs of the past” while explaining the president’s ambitions to spur domestic manufacturing.
Mr. Bessent, a native of South Carolina, said at a White House press briefing, “We don’t need to necessarily have a booming textile industry where I grew up again, but we do want to have precision manufacturing and bring that back.”
The National Association of Textile Organizations took offense, noting that it had been supportive of the Trump administration’s trade agenda, including the broad tariffs that Mr. Trump announced this month. The group pointed out that the U.S. textile industry produces more than 8,000 different products for the military and employed more than 470,000 workers last year.
“Our industry saw your remarks and were disheartened to hear this sentiment, especially since this industry has been noted by President Trump himself on a number of occasions as critical and strategic,” Kimberly Glas, the trade group’s chief executive, wrote in a letter to Mr. Bessent.
Critics of the Trump administration’s tariff strategy argue that the U.S. economy is heavily reliant on services and that efforts to reshore production of goods such as textiles would raise prices for consumers. Mr. Bessent was making the case that the Trump administration is focused on bolstering domestic manufacturing of products such as automobiles and items that are crucial to national security.
Ms. Glas, who requested a meeting with Mr. Bessent, said that U.S. textile manufacturers should not be overlooked as they compete with Chinese producers that benefit from Beijing’s unfair trade practices.
“This is a strategically important, relevant, and key industry,” Ms. Glas wrote.
The Treasury Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
