Red Sea Blockade: Jordan Garment Industry Impact
The Red Sea blockade’s impact on Jordan’s garment industry is severe, crippling supply chains and threatening a key economic sector. Factories face material shortages,order cancellations,and rising costs,as attacks disrupt crucial shipping routes and undermine Jordan’s trade agreements. This crisis, fueled by geopolitical instability, leaves the garment industry, which heavily relies on access to the U.S. market, vulnerable.Factories struggle with alternatives, including sourcing materials from other countries; however, these are proving costly and inefficient. Small factories are suffering,and some are even temporarily shutting down.News Directory 3 can tell you that the industry is grappling with critical connectivity problems. discover what’s next for this vital sector as it seeks to adapt and survive the turmoil.
Red Sea Crisis Hits Jordan’s Garment Industry Hard
Updated May 30, 2025
Jordan’s garment industry, a cornerstone of its export economy, is reeling from disruptions caused by ongoing attacks in the Red Sea. Factories are struggling too maintain production as supply chains falter and major U.S. brands reconsider orders. The crisis highlights the sector’s reliance on international trade routes and its vulnerability to geopolitical instability.
In April 2024, Farnaz and her colleagues, garment workers from Bangladesh, found themselves on forced leave in Ad-Dhulayl.Their factory, which produces sportswear for brands like Timberland and The North Face, had run out of materials.this scene was common across Jordan’s industrial zones as attacks launched by Yemen’s Houthi movement in late 2023 disrupted shipping lanes.
The attacks, a response to the conflict in Gaza, forced vessels to reroute around the Cape of Good Hope, bypassing Jordan’s only seaport, Aqaba. This isolation has severely impacted the import of essential materials for Jordan’s clothing industry, the country’s largest industrial export sector besides phosphates and potash.
The situation has exposed underlying weaknesses in Jordan’s garment sector, which relies on preferential trade agreements with the United States. While these agreements have fostered growth, the industry remains susceptible to supply chain shocks and the shifting demands of major U.S. clothing brands. The industry’s dependence on imported materials and migrant labor further compounds its fragility.
The Qualified Industrial Zones (QIZ) agreement, established in 1996, initially required that 8% of the value added in Jordanian exports come from Israeli inputs. While this requirement was later dropped in 2010 with the U.S.-Jordan Free Trade Agreement (JUSFTA),the industry’s reliance on global supply chains persisted. Today, about 90% of garments made in Jordan are exported to the United States.
Some Jordanian factories have attempted to mitigate the disruptions by sourcing materials from Egypt and Turkey or rerouting shipments through Jebel Ali in the United Arab Emirates. Though, these alternatives have proven costly and inefficient. Asma,a logistics officer at a Taiwan-owned sportswear factory,described the frustration of having to shred fabric after Adidas canceled an order due to perceived risks.
“It was so frustrating. We had received the fabric but were forced to shred it entirely because Adidas felt it was too risky to let us go forward with the production and gave the order to our group’s factory in Cambodia instead.”
Suresh, a manager at a factory in ad-Dhulayl, said his company has resorted to air freight to ensure timely deliveries to U.S. clients.He emphasized that the penalties for delays outweigh the increased transport costs.
“Just-in-time delivery is crucial to the sports brands we work with, and the penalties they impose on us for delays are much worse than the loss we make through the increased transport costs.”
Smaller factories are struggling to survive, with some temporarily closing down and laying off workers. The Red Sea blockade has exposed a critical connectivity problem, overshadowing Jordan’s advantage of duty-free access to the U.S. market.
What’s next
The Jordanian government and industry leaders are exploring strategies to diversify supply chains and export markets. Strengthening regional partnerships and investing in infrastructure could help mitigate future disruptions and bolster the garment sector’s resilience.