Latest Trade Numbers Show China Wins Again
Apparel and textile imports to the United States inched up slightly more than 4 percent in 2006, with imports of Chinese-made goods gaining considerable ground again, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.
Figures released on Feb. 13 showed that Americans imported more apparel and textile products from China than from any other country. Imports from that quickly developing country totaled $30 billion in 2006, a 16.77 percent increase over 2005.
Mexico retained its No. 2 position as a country that is a U.S. apparel and textile provider. But imports from that border country declined nearly 10 percent to $7.14 billion.
Other regions that experienced significant drops were Hong Kong, with a 20 percent decline to $2.9 billion; South Korea, with a 14.25 percent drop to $1.7 billion; and Taiwan, with an 8.9 percent dip to $1.6 billion.
Even the recently deployed Central American Free Trade Agreement didn’t boost imports from Central America. Apparel and textile imports from that region dropped 6.7 percent to $9.17 billion.
One area that saw hefty gains in 2006 was Southeast Asia. Countries that make up the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which includes Cambodia, Vietnam and the Philippines, sent $14.7 billion worth of apparel and textiles to the United States in 2006, a 14.5 percent jump over 2005. —Deborah Belgum
