Paralyzing moment for fashion industry

When LVMH's chief executive officer was seen striding through the Trump Tower lobby on Monday, the fashion industry held its breath.

Bernard Arnault runs the world's largest luxury-goods company - a sprawling empire that includes Louis Vuitton, Fendi and Dior - and here he was meeting with a president-elect who has threatened to roil the industry with trade restrictions. Following Arnault's sit-down with Trump, LVMH said the French company was considering expanding its production in the United States.

The encounter underscores an agonizing moment for apparel makers, most of which had written off the US as a major source of production. A whopping 97 percent of clothes sold in the US is manufactured in other countries, but Trump has threatened to rip up trade agreements and impose tariffs in a bid to bring domestic jobs back.