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Textiles & clothing trade developments in 2006 - WTO reports

12 Apr '07
4 min read

US imports from CAFTA members and the Dominican Republic, and Sub-Saharan Africa, declined by 7% and 10% respectively. The strongest decline in US imports (–14%) was observed for the more advanced economies in Asia (i.e. Hong Kong, China, Chinese Taipei and the Republic of Korea). US imports from the EU (25), which still exceeded those from India in 2005, decreased by 2.5% in 2006.

The import decline from these suppliers was balanced by a double digit increase of imports from six Asian countries. While imports from China increased by 15% and accounted for nearly 30% of total US imports of textiles and clothing, the rise in imports from Indonesia, Viet Nam, Bangladesh and Cambodia exceeded that from China. Imports from India, a major supplier to the United States, rose 12% in 2006, which was less than the rate recorded by China.

The re-shuffling of EU import shares had similarities with those of the US market. Some of the major traditional suppliers (e.g. Turkey, Romania, Morocco, Tunisia) lost market shares while Asian developing countries increased their share. As in the US market, China expanded its role as leading supplier, but imports from smaller Asian suppliers tended to rise faster than those from China. Rather untypical is the sharp rise of EU clothing imports from Hong Kong, China in 2006.

Among the developed markets Japan's textiles and clothing imports are the most concentrated on China due both to geographic proximity and the absence of import quotas in the recent past. More than three quarters of Japan's textiles and clothing imports originated from China in 2006. The share exceeds 80% for clothing imports.

At nearly 9%, Canada recorded with the strongest rise in textiles and clothing imports of the four major developed markets in 2006. Imports from China rose by more than 20%. The structural shifts among suppliers observed in 2006 were similar to those observed in the US market.

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World Trade Organization

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