Forget Alibaba! 8 Cheaper Suppliers Under The New Tariffs Transcript, AI Summary & Key Points

00:00 So, right now, I'm placing handkerchief orders with a brand new supplier that is not in China. And it's a country I've never worked with in over 19 years of selling online. Not only that, but the all-in cost is slightly cheaper, the tariffs are lower, and the quality is excellent. Thanks to the latest round of tariffs that Trump announced on July 24th, billions of dollars in US sourcing is quietly shifting to eight specific places.

00:25 Ranging from Southeast Asian factory hubs to US wholesale marketplaces to a domestic industrial platform used by millions of people. I'm going to show you all eight and which one to try first based on what you sell. And this is the best strategy for product sourcing based on the latest tariffs. So, let's start with the country I just moved my own handkerchief sourcing to, Vietnam.

00:43 Now, everybody talks about Vietnam like it's a poor man's China for manufacturing, but the complete opposite is true. In the first 5 months of this year alone, the US imported over $22 billion in electronics from Vietnam. China's number for the same category was only 8.8 billion. So, Vietnam is now beating China by more than two and a half times on electronic exports to America.

01:08 And electronics is just the beginning. Vietnam is now the number two smartphone exporter to the US behind China, the number one supplier of laptops and game consoles, and in 2025, it pulled in over $38 billion in registered foreign direct investment, most of it going into brand new factories. Now, for my own business, this is the first time I'm buying handkerchiefs from an Asian supplier outside of China in almost two decades.

01:34 And I was surprised. My cost for near identical products came in slightly cheaper than my old China supplier. The tariffs are meaningfully lower, and the quality is just as good if not better. Now, the easiest way to find Vietnamese factories is the Global Sourcing Fair in Ho Chi Minh City every single April. Which is drawing over 12,000 international buyers this year and connecting them with over 500 plus verified factories.

02:00 Now, if you're sourcing from China right now, Vietnam is the closest alternative on both cost and quality, and it's actually my top pick. But, it's not the only country winning. The next place on this list runs on a completely different model, and it's built for smaller US brands with no minimum order quantity headaches. At number two, we've got Faire.

02:20 Now, if you've never heard of Faire before, it is a US-based wholesale marketplace that connects independent brands with retail buyers. Think of it like a US Alibaba, but with vetted brands, small minimum orders, and no factory in China nightmares. Now, Faire is expanding like crazy, and is now doing over 500 million dollars a year in revenue, growing more than 40% year-over-year in Q3.

02:42 And it hit 3 billion dollars in gross merchandise value last year, which is eight straight quarters of growth. And in November of last year, it was valued at 5.2 billion dollars. So, I was actually on it the other day, and there are over 700,000 independent retailers on the platform globally. And a bunch of my students are using Faire in two different ways.

03:03 Some are sourcing wholesale products from Faire because the brands are already vetted, and the quality is high. And a bunch of them are actually selling on Faire, using it as a wholesale channel for their own brands. Now, the reason Faire is winning right now is that when tariffs go up on Chinese imports, retailers scramble for domestic and vetted alternatives.

03:20 And Faire is where they look. So, if you sell home goods, gifts, apparel, or beauty products, Faire is where you should be sourcing, and possibly selling. But, if you need textiles, or towels, or bedding at scale, this next country on this list is where a couple of my students have already moved their production to. So, number three is Turkey. Turkey is one of the biggest textile producers in the world, and right now, they're a legit cost and quality alternative for US importers who need cotton goods, towels, bedding,

03:49 or home textiles. Even after Trump's latest round of tariffs on July 24th, Turkey came out at only 12 and 1/2%. Now, to import the same product from China, you have to pay 35% or more. Now, the reason China is so much higher is that they got hit with a whole stack of extra China only tariffs that other countries do not have. So, sourcing from Turkey puts you about 22 points ahead on tariffs alone before you even start negotiating your prices.

04:19 Now, the reason Turkey lands on my list isn't just because of the tariffs. It's quality. A few of my students in the mastermind groups have moved textile production to Turkey, and their quality is coming in higher than they what they were getting out of China. Now, I personally looked into Turkey for our towel line because Turkish cotton is considered some of the best in the world.

04:39 Now, I haven't pulled the trigger yet, but it's on my short list for this year. Now, the main downside of Turkey is that finding a good supplier is harder than sourcing from China. There isn't a single dominant B2B platform like Alibaba, so you have to work through directories like Turkish exporter.net, industry trade fairs, or a sourcing agent. Now, if you sell home textiles, or specially cotton goods, Turkey deserves a real look.

05:04 And speaking of textile specialists, the next country is one of the deepest cotton, leather, and surgical instrument producers in the world. By the way, if you're interested in learning how to start your own profitable online store, make sure you sign up for my free 6-day e-commerce mini course below. It's 100% free, and I guarantee you'll learn a ton.

05:21 So, at number four, we have Pakistan. Now, I don't have personal sourcing experience with Pakistan yet, but the manufacturing depth here is legit. Pakistan landed in the lower 10% tariff tier under the new US tariff setup that took effect this week alongside of India, Bangladesh, and Mexico. So, that gives Pakistan a 2.5 point tariff edge over Vietnam and Turkey on top of one of the most specialized textile and light manufacturing sectors in Asia.

05:50 So, Pakistan is totally taking advantage of the shift away from Chinese manufacturing. Last year, US imports from Pakistan hit $5.4 billion, up almost 6% year-over-year. And that growth is happening while imports from China are shrinking, which tells you exactly where the money is flowing. Now, where Pakistan really shines is category specialization.

06:13 It has deep established production lines in cotton apparel, home textiles, leather goods, sporting equipment, and surgical instruments. So, if you're in any of those categories, and you're getting quoted painful numbers from Chinese factories right now, Pakistan is worth a look. On just tariffs alone, you're picking up somewhere in the range of 20 to 25 percentage points of advantage compared to buying the exact same category out of China.

06:37 Now, the catch with Pakistan, it's the same as Turkey. There's no giant online sourcing platform, so you'll need to work through the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan, industry trade fairs, or a local sourcing agent to find vetted factories. But, if you sell specialized textiles or leather goods, Pakistan should definitely be on your short list.

06:55 And the next country on this list is even bigger in apparel volume. And in fact, it just overtook China as the number two apparel supplier to the US market. So, number five is Bangladesh. Bangladesh just became the number two apparel supplier to the US, overtaking China in that market for the very first time. And its share of the US apparel market has now climbed above 10% and it's still shooting up.

07:20 In just the first eight months of last year, US apparel imports from Bangladesh hit $5.64 billion, up almost 20% year-over-year. Now, Bangladesh's specialty is high-volume garment production, especially knitwear, t-shirts, woven apparel, workwear, and denim at scale. Now, if you're running an apparel brand and you need to move real quantities, Bangladesh has more production capacity in a single industrial zone in Dhaka than most countries have in their entire garment sector.

07:50 Now, the trade-off with Bangladesh is that it's built for scale. Minimum order quantities are typically way higher than what you get out of Turkey or Pakistan. So, this is a country that you go to when you know how fast you can sell through inventory and you want to lock in a lower per unit cost. Another thing to know about Bangladesh, they've had duty-free access into Europe for years under a UN program for developing countries and that program ends for Bangladesh in November of this year.

08:18 So, Bangladesh is about to lose its biggest tariff advantage abroad and they're going to be hungry for US business. So, overall, if you're serious about selling apparel at volume, Bangladesh is a country to source from. But, if you'd rather browse suppliers online instead of chasing them down through trade shows and sourcing agents, this next place on this list is home to the biggest online B2B marketplace outside of Alibaba and it just became a real tariff winner as well.

08:42 So, at number six, we have IndiaMart. Now, if you've never heard of IndiaMart, it's basically India's version of Alibaba and it's a pretty big business. In their most recent quarter, IndiaMart did 48 million US dollars in revenue, up 13% year-over-year. They now have 8.7 million supplier storefronts and process over 28 million unique business inquiries in a single quarter.

09:07 So, here's what's changed for India. Not too long ago, India was very expensive to import from with tariffs sitting above 25%. But, all that got wiped out earlier this year and India dropped to a flat 10%. This week's new tariff setup kept India at 10% right in there with Bangladesh, Pakistan and Mexico. So, that is a 25-point advantage over China on tariffs alone.

09:31 Now, we source from India for parts of our own product line and the quality coming out of Indian factories is generally better than what we're getting out of China for the exact same category. The other thing to know about India is the pace. Indian suppliers are just not as hungry as Chinese suppliers. They don't respond as fast. They don't chase every RFQ.

09:48 And their negotiation style is much more relaxed. So, if you're used to the aggressiveness of Chinese factories, sourcing from India is going to feel a little bit slow. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but you need to know about it going in. If you want a full breakdown, I actually have a separate video on how to actually use IndiaMart. Now, the next place on this list is US-based.

10:09 It's the sourcing channel I turn to when speed matters more than the cost. So, at number seven, we have Thomasnet. Now, if you've never used it, Thomasnet is basically a giant industrial directory of manufacturers and suppliers based in the US, Canada, and Mexico. It's 100% free to buyers, and it looks nothing like Alibaba's shiny consumer goods marketplace.

10:32 But, it's exploding right now among Amazon FBA sellers who want to avoid China tariffs entirely. So, Thomasnet is where you go if you want to actually make a product in North America. If you have your own private label brand, or if you're trying to create a custom product from scratch, Thomasnet is where you find the factory that will do it. Now, I used to scoff at US manufacturing until I gave it a try myself.

10:55 A couple years ago, we started sourcing aprons from a US manufacturer instead of China. Now, the unit cost was roughly three times more expensive than what we'd pay in China, and that's a huge premium. And on paper, it sounds kind of crazy. But, here's what we got in exchange. We could iterate on a design in a week instead of 3 months. And we could reorder in small quantities without penalty.

11:18 So, we eliminated tariffs, customs paperwork, and shipping delays all in one fell swoop. And we stopped flying to Guangzhou to visit our factories in China. Now, the math actually works out better than it looks. When you can iterate quickly, you get a winning product faster and you avoid buying 5,000 units something that might end up selling like garbage.

11:37 So, if you're building your own brand and you care more about speed rather than the sticker price, Thomasnet is where I'd start. But, if you want a real shot at nearshoring at scale, you're going to want to visit the last place on this list. It just posted its biggest year of foreign direct investment ever. So, at number eight, we have Mexico. Mexico closed last year with a record 40.87 billion dollars in foreign direct investment, up 10.8% year-over-year.

12:03 So, that's the biggest year of investment funding Mexico has ever experienced. Now, the reason is the USMCA. Products manufactured in Mexico that meet the trade agreement's origin rules get zero tariff access to the US market. And that's a huge advantage over China's 35-plus percent effective rate on consumer goods and even over the 10 to 12.5% everyone else in this video is paying under the new US tariff setup that just took effect last week.

12:34 Many US importers have finally figured it out. Before the tariffs hit early last year, only about 45% of eligible US-Mexico trade was actually using USMCA preferences. But, by November of last year, that number had jumped to 85%. Companies scrambled to do the compliance paperwork the second the tariffs made it worthwhile. Now, a Deloitte study found that 62% of American companies are either considering or already relocating some production to Mexico.

13:04 I personally looked into sourcing from Mexico. It takes a lot of legwork, but the factories are there. Mexico is strong in cars, auto parts, electronics, medical devices, appliances, aerospace, and furniture, and some textiles. Small-batch manufacturers do exist for apparel, cosmetics, and packaging, too. You just have to hunt for them yourself since there's no Alibaba-style platform yet.

13:26 But, overall, if you put in the work, or if you just travel there, you can find factories in almost any category. And the speed of production is awesome. You can drive a truck from Monterrey to Dallas in about 12 hours. Compare that to 6 weeks on a container ship from Shenzhen, China. So if you're running an inventory tight business, you can replenish or spin up new designs very quickly.

13:48 But just a quick heads-up on the USMCA. At the July 1st review, the US declined to renew the agreement in its current form. Now the USMCA is still active, but instead of a long-term extension, it's now going into annual reviews. So if you sell industrial or higher value products, you should lock in Mexico supply relationships while the tariff-free access is still available.

14:12 So here's the takeaway I want you to leave with. Diversification is the way you got to go now. There's no such thing as a single Alibaba replacement, and there's not going to be one. What you have instead are eight countries and tools that each solve a different piece of the sourcing puzzle. Now the move isn't to just pick one and swap. It's to build a sourcing portfolio with two or three of these matched to what you actually sell.

14:37 So if you're doing apparel at volume, that might be Bangladesh plus Vietnam plus a fair wholesale channel on the side. If you're building industrial products, that might be Thomasnet plus Mexico. Diversifying your sources does three things at once. It cuts your tariff exposure, it protects you when one country's factory situation gets bad, and it gives you the leverage to walk away when a supplier tries to raise prices.

15:02 Now before you go find a supplier from any of these eight countries, make sure your product idea is actually worth sourcing. I built a 10-question scorecard that tells you in 10 minutes whether to move forward or walk away from your product. So watch this video next.