#Associations

2026-09-16

EURATEX calls for urgent action on industrial competitiveness

EURATEX, the European Apparel and Textile Confederation, welcomes today’s State of the Union Address by European Commission President, Ursula von der Leyen, and in particular her recognition of Europe’s need to rebalance unfair trade, cut red tape, and strengthen its industrial and strategic autonomy.

EURATEX now calls on the Commission and Member States to translate these commitments into concrete action for the textile and apparel value chain.

At the same time, EURATEX regrets that industrial competitiveness received comparatively limited attention in an otherwise wide-ranging address. The association urges the Commission to match today’s political commitments with an equal sense of urgency on industrial competitiveness, and to place manufacturing sectors, such as textiles, more firmly at the centre of its agenda in the months ahead.

"Europe cannot build a strong defence, lead the green and digital transitions, or protect its social model on a weakening industrial base. Competitiveness is not just one chapter of the European project – it is the foundation all the others are built on; when we get that right, everything else becomes possible,” states Dirk Vantyghem, Director General of EURATEX.

On trade, EURATEX shares the President’s assessment that the EU’s growing trade deficit with China – now standing at €1 billion a day – has reached a tipping point. The textile and apparel sector has been on the front line of this “second China shock” for years, and EURATEX calls on the Commission to move swiftly from dialogue to concrete trade-defence measures, including stronger customs enforcement and import monitoring for textile products.

EURATEX also welcomes the pledge to cut administrative burden and forge a “pact against gold-plating” with Member States. Textile companies, the vast majority of which are SMEs, are disproportionately affected by overlapping and often diverging national implementation of EU rules, and genuine simplification would meaningfully improve their competitiveness.

Looking ahead to the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF), EURATEX stresses the need for dedicated support for the textile industry, reflecting its role as a strategic manufacturing sector for Europe’s green, digital, and defence transitions, and ensuring the sector is not left without targeted instruments as EU funding priorities are reshaped.

EURATEX commends the President’s announcement of a new “European Instrument for Strategic Enablers” to strengthen European defence capabilities. Technical and defence-related textiles – from protective equipment and ballistic materials to smart textiles for soldier systems – are an integral part of Europe’s defence industrial base, and EURATEX says it stands ready to help ensure the sector is fully recognised in this effort.

On international partnerships, EURATEX notes with interest the President’s proposal to deepen the EU-Canada relationship through an “Alliance for the Future”. EURATEX has recently signed Memoranda of Understanding with its Canadian counterparts, the Canadian Textiles Industry Association (CTIA) and the Canadian Apparel Federation (CAF), and is well-placed to build on this cooperation as EU-Canada industrial ties are strengthened.

Finally, EURATEX supports the announcement of a new Mediterranean Youth Skills and Jobs initiative. The association is already active in this domain through its role in the Pact for Skills and has ongoing engagement across the Mediterranean region. EURATEX says it is ready to contribute its expertise to help ensure the initiative delivers meaningful opportunities for young people in the textile and apparel value chain.

EURATEX urges Member States to prioritise competitiveness in the next EU budget

Ahead of crucial discussions among EU Member States on the next Multiannual Financial Framework (MFF) for 2028–2034, EURATEX, the European Apparel and Textile Confederation, calls on European leaders to safeguard ambitious funding for industrial competitiveness and ensure that these resources translate into concrete investment support in European companies.

European textile industry calls for €10 handling fee on ultra-fast-fashion imports

The introduction of the €3 customs duty on low-value imports marks an important milestone in Europe’s efforts to address the challenges created by the rapid growth of ultra-fast-fashion imports. Together with the abolition of the €150 customs duty exemption, it demonstrates that policymakers are willing to act when market distortions become impossible to ignore. However, the European textile and clothing industry considers this a first step rather than the final destination.

Towards pragmatic and harmonised labelling in the EU

EDANA, alongside 14 European associations, urges the European Commission and Member States to adopt a pragmatic approach for the future harmonised packaging labels, in line with the EU’s agenda for the EU Single Market, simplification and competitiveness. The system should rely on text-free pictograms, available in achromatic or monochromatic versions matching the packaging palette, with the possibility of using digital labelling as a core element. Our associations represent manufacturers of consumer goods across Europe.

Data and skills, not algorithms, hold back AI adoption in textiles, finds ITMF and ITA white paper

The International Textile Manufacturers Federation (ITMF) and the Institut für Textiltechnik of RWTH Aachen University (ITA) have published a new white paper entitled AI in the Textile Value Chain: A Strategic Guide to Artificial Intelligence for the Global Textile Industry. The study concludes that the main barriers to artificial intelligence adoption in the textile and apparel industry are not technological limitations, but poor data integration, skills shortages and gaps in governance. According to the authors, further progress will depend on coordinated efforts to develop capabilities across the industry.

Brazil: The Italian textile and textile-machinery sector takes centre stage at two workshops

From 19 to 24 October 2026, Brazil will host a mission showcasing Italian excellence in the textile and textile machinery sectors, with two workshops scheduled for 20 October in the state of Santa Catarina and 22 October in São Paulo. The initiative will bring together Italian companies specialising in textile machinery, yarns, fabrics and clothing accessories, with the aim of strengthening commercial and industrial ties between the two countries and opening up new opportunities for collaboration.

ITMF survey shows slight improvement in global textile industry despite continued pressure

The 40th ITMF Global Textile Industry Survey (GTIS), conducted from 21 to 29 September 2026, shows a slight improvement in the global business situation, to -23pp, well above the November 2023 low of -46pp. Conditions nevertheless remain weak, in what has become a new normal of high uncertainty. Only South Asia (+13pp) and Africa (+9pp) are positive, while Europe (-36pp), South America (-44pp) and North & Central America (-56pp) report the weakest conditions.