Newsletter: April 2003
USA
2002 Textile Imports Reach Record High
US textile imports in 2002 jumped nearly 17%
to more than 38 billion square metres of fabric worth $72 billion, the
highest levels ever recorded by the US Commerce Department.
And for the first time in eight years, imports
of Chinese-made textile products surpassed those from Mexico. The latest
trade figures from the department showed textile imports from China
increased 125%, to nearly 5 billion square metres worth $8.7
billion.
Quotas on infant garments were removed last
year, and imports from China in 2002 surged more than nine times 2001
levels.
Soaring
imports of autos and other consumer goods propelled the nation's trade
deficit to a record $435 billion in 2002. The biggest trade gap was with
China, from where the US imported $125 billion but exported only $22 billion
- a $103 billion deficit.
