Coping with the changing rules of the game in the global textiles and apparel industries: evidence from Turkey and Morocco

Abstract

In 2004, USA signed a bilateral free trade agreement with Morocco that was potentially devastating for the Turkish firm Mithat, an established clothing supplier of a number of major US buyers including Gap/Banana Republic/Old Navy. By means of this case study, we observe the manner in which manufacturing suppliers make their own calculations in response to their buyers’ sourcing calculus-a daunting task, especially when it is necessary to take into account politically motivated bilateral free trade agreements between countries which are neither natural partners nor in geographical proximity with each other.