Textiles

World textiles and apparel trade is in transition, moving from a regulated quota regime to free trade between WTO member countries. Global trade was regulated for over 30 years by a series of multilateral agreements, but this global system of quotas expired on January 1, 2005. Many experts forecast substantial shifts in worldwide textiles and apparel trade (see e.g. the study by the U.S. International Trade Commission.  The Department of State closely follows trends in global trade textile and apparel trade, including reporting from our Embassies abroad.

Textile and Apparel remains an important industry for the United States, providing over 650,000 manufacturing jobs, and it is even more important to many developing countries, serving as a key source of employment and export growth. The United States imports large quantities of clothing (almost $90 billion in 2005) and these garment imports provide American consumers greater choices of cost and selection. However, American companies remain leaders in innovation of new fabrics, and many have developed global operations.

The Committee for the Implementation of Textiles Agreements (CITA) manages the U.S. Government's bilateral and multilateral textiles trade issues. CITA is chaired by the Department of Commerce, and the other CITA members are the Departments of State, Treasury, Labor and the United States Trade Representative. The Bureau of Economic and Business Affairs' Agriculture, Biotechnology and Textile Trade Affairs (ABT) office manages all textile issues for the Department of State, including the Department's participation in CITA. The State Department brings foreign policy expertise to CITA, particularly with our worldwide network of State economic officers who report on textiles issues.

CITA has acted decisively to smooth transitions in trade following the end of global textiles and apparel quotas. Faced with rapidly rising Chinese garment imports, CITA approved safeguards to help protect sensitive segments of United States industry. The United States concluded a broad textile agreement with China in November 2005 that restrains Chinese imports for over 30 individual products, and will provide market stability and predictability through 2008. Moreover, the United States has established several tariff preference programs, such as the African Growth and Opportunity Act, the Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act , and the Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act.  These tariff preference programs promote of entry level manufacturing in developing countries, usually in partnership with United States textile manufacturers. The United States has also negotiated textile and apparel chapters in our free trade agreements, with the objective of encouraging additional trade by eliminating tariffs and generating new opportunities for domestic textile manufacturers.

Link:

Department of Commerce