2001 Appraisal: Textile and Apparel Imports and Exports
Mexico, China and the Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI) remained the United States’ leading trading partners, exchanging more than $22 billion in apparel/textile imports through the first three quarters of 2001—fairly flat numbers compared to 2000. No. 1 trading partner Mexico experienced a 3.3 percent drop in trade, while imports from China grew by 4 percent. CBI imports were flat at $7.3 billion, according to the U.S. Dept. of Commerce’s Office of Textiles and Apparel.
Offshore nations from Asia are gaining ground as those countries continue to experience devalued currencies, putting pressure on pricing. Conversely, Mexico’s peso has firmed up 5 percent this year, making its exports more expensive. Additionally, China and Taiwan stand to benefit from their entry into the World Trade Organization in 2002.
The events of Sept. 11 no doubt contributed to the lackluster numbers. Apparel exports tumbled 18 percent through September. The hit was especially hard in the textile sector, where more than 100 mills have closed and more than 63,000 people have lost jobs during the period.
Textile workers were additionally hurt by the recent five-year extension of the Andean Trade Preference Act, which benefits several Latin American textile-producing countries. Also, the Bush administration has proposed to eliminate tariffs on textile imports from Pakistan, which domestic textile mills oppose. Aggregately, apparel and textile exports fell nearly 8 percent through the first three quarters of 2001. Exports to Mexico dropped nearly 13 percent and those to the CBI dropped 3 percent. —Robert McAllister
