Cashmere, Tariffs & The Real Cost of Importing
Cashmere, tariffs,
and the real
cost of importing.
Quinn has been importing Grade A cashmere from Inner Mongolia since 2003. We've watched every tariff cycle, testified before Congress on the economics, and felt every rate change in our landed costs. Here's what it all actually means.
On the record
with USTR.
On June 17, 2019, Quinn's founder Jean Kolloff was the second company to testify before the Section 301 Committee of the U.S. Trade Representative in Washington, D.C. The hearing concerned proposed 25% tariffs on Chinese imports under HTS code 6110.12 — women's and men's cashmere sweaters — part of the broader Section 301 trade action against China.
Quinn testified on behalf of small and mid-sized American cashmere importers, arguing that cashmere is a categorically different case from most Chinese imports: the fiber cannot be sourced elsewhere, no alternative manufacturing infrastructure exists, and the production cycle locks in pricing up to eight months before goods ship — making it impossible to absorb sudden tariff increases.
“Cashmere is farmed exclusively in Inner Mongolia from the Alashan breed of goat. They only thrive in this region and are considered the gold of China. We've searched for similar species of goat in an attempt to copy the hair from this animal in other countries or even domestically, but to no avail.”
Full transcript, USTR.gov (Pages 19–23) ↗
Why cashmere is
a special case.
Most goods targeted by Section 301 tariffs can theoretically be moved to other countries — Vietnam, Bangladesh, India — given time. Cashmere cannot. The argument Quinn made in 2019, and which remains equally true today, rests on three points that are specific to cashmere and largely unavailable to other textile categories.
Grade A cashmere comes from the Alashan breed of cashmere goat, which only thrives in Inner Mongolia. The extreme cold (winters reaching –40°C) and high altitude drive the undercoat quality. Mongolian goats, often suggested as an alternative, produce predominantly brown and black fiber — unusable for the white fiber required for most dyed colorways.
Cashmere knitwear requires specialized machinery and skilled labor that no longer exists in the U.S. and cannot be reconstituted quickly elsewhere. Quinn researched bringing production stateside for years. The machinery, the workforce, and the infrastructure are simply unavailable at any practical cost or timeline.
Quinn contracts production eight months before shipment. Prices are locked with both suppliers and retail customers before goods are made. A surprise tariff increase arrives after contracts are signed and production is underway — there is no mechanism to absorb or pass it along in the short term. Revenue is lost, or inventory is.
How we got here.
Cashmere sweaters entered 2018 with a base tariff of 4% — already one of the lowest rates in the textile category, reflecting the recognized scarcity of the raw material. The Section 301 action upended that math entirely.
| Date | Action | Rate added | HTS 6110.12 impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pre-2018 | Standard MFN tariff rate | 4% base | 4% total. Low rate reflects scarcity of raw material vs. synthetic alternatives. |
| July 2018 | Section 301 List 1 tariffs take effect | +25% | ~29% effective rate. Cashmere sweaters (6110.12) on List 4, not yet affected. |
| June 2019 | Section 301 List 4 hearings — Quinn testifies | Proposed +25% | Quinn and other apparel importers testify against inclusion. Request exemption for cashmere specifically. |
| September 2019 | List 4A tariffs take effect at 15% | +15% | ~19% effective rate. Cashmere included despite testimony. Rate lower than proposed 25%. |
| February 2020 | Phase One trade deal — List 4A reduced | ‑7.5% | Rate reduced back to ~11.5% as part of US-China Phase One deal. |
| 2021–2023 | Biden maintains Section 301 tariffs | No change | ~11.5% rate maintained through the Biden years pending statutory 4-year review. |
| September 2024 | USTR 4-year review — raises rates on strategic sectors | No change for apparel | Cashmere not in strategic sectors (EVs, semiconductors). Rates unchanged. |
| February 2025 | Trump 2.0 — "fentanyl" tariffs on all Chinese goods | +10%, then +20% | All Chinese imports including cashmere hit with additional 10%, raised to 20%. |
| April 2025 | Reciprocal tariffs — escalation and partial rollback | +34%, then ‑24% | Rapid escalation to 104% on Chinese goods, then scaled back to 10% for 90 days. |
| March 2026 | Current effective rate (approximate) | ~49% total | Base 4% + Section 301 ~11.5% + fentanyl tariff 20% + ongoing reciprocal tariff 10-34%. |
Note: Tariff rates are complex and subject to change by executive action. Exact effective rates depend on product classification, applicable exclusions, and current executive orders. Consult a licensed customs broker for your specific situation.
How tariffs flow
through to retail.
The standard retail math in apparel applies a multiplier of 4–6x from landed cost to shelf price. A $25 tariff increase on a $100 FOB garment doesn't add $25 to the retail price — it adds $100–$150 once each tier of the supply chain maintains its margin percentage.
For Quinn, which sells direct-to-consumer with no wholesale intermediary, the multiplier is compressed. But it still means that a 25% tariff increase on the landed cost of a $298 cashmere sweater creates real pressure: either absorb it and compress margins, pass it through to the customer at a higher price, or contract volume to manage working capital risk.
None of those options are good. Which is why Quinn was in Washington in 2019 making the case before the tariff took effect, rather than after.
— Jean Kolloff, USTR testimony, June 17, 2019
Cashmere is taxed less than acrylic.
Until it wasn't.
Before Section 301, the U.S. tariff system reflected a reasonable logic: natural luxury fibers like cashmere (4% base) were taxed more lightly than synthetic alternatives like acrylic (32% base). Cashmere is rare, expensive to produce, and not manufactured domestically — there was no domestic industry to protect. Acrylic is cheap to make and has domestic producers.
Section 301 inverted this relationship. By adding 25% to Chinese goods across the board, it added the same tariff to a $300 cashmere sweater as to a $30 acrylic one — without regard for the scarcity of the raw material, the impossibility of alternative sourcing, or the economic harm to American small businesses that import cashmere specifically because there is no other option.
4% base tariff. Reflects the scarcity of raw material and absence of domestic manufacturing competition. The lowest rate tier in apparel.
32% base tariff. Reflects domestic manufacturing competition and the lower cost/scarcity of synthetic fiber. 8x the cashmere rate.
~49% total. 4% base + Section 301 + fentanyl tariff + reciprocal tariffs. A 12x increase from the pre-2018 rate on a fiber that cannot be sourced elsewhere.
~62% total. 32% base + additional tariffs. Higher in absolute terms — but acrylic can be made in Vietnam, Bangladesh, and domestically. The option exists. For cashmere, it doesn't.