On May 27, the Department of Commerces Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA) announced quotas on three categories of apparel imports from China. An additional three categories were announced on May 20. The quotas apply to mens and boys cotton and man-made fiber shirts, man-made fiber trousers, man-made fiber knit shirts and blouses and combed cotton yarn.
Quota levels will be 7.5% above the amount of imports of these products from China during the March 2004 to March 2005 timeframe and will be prorated from May 27 to correspond with the number of days left in the year.
Unless a mutually acceptable agreement can be reached in the next 90 days, the quotas will remain in effect until December 31, 2005.
The United States has formally requested consultations with the Peoples Republic of China to discuss concerns over the importation of the four apparel categories targeted for quotas. Trade Representatives from the two countries are meeting in June; they will have 90 days to negotiate a satisfactory agreement to ease or avoid the threat of disruption in the US market for the targeted apparel.
Once a 100% quota trigger is reached on a targeted Chinese import, future imports of that item will be prohibited for remainder of 2005.
On June 6, 2005 the U.S. Customs and Border Protection released the following information:
| Category (Textile Codes) | Imports | Quota Trigger | % Filled |
| Mens/Boys Cotton & Man-made Shirts (340/640) | 8,609 | 2,213,126 | 0.4 |
| Cotton Knit Shirts & Blouses (338/339) | 296,722 | 4,704,115 | 6.3 |
| Cotton Trousers (347/348) | 275,733 | 4,340,638 | 6.4 |
| Cotton & Man-Made Fiber Underwear (352/652) | 262,390 | 5,062, 892 | 5.2 |
| Man-Made Fiber Trousers (647/648) | 20,383 | 2,660,678 | 0.8 |
| Knit Man-Made Fiber Shirts | 106,894 | 2,844,383 | 3.8 |
SGMA.com will update this chart periodically. For the most up-to-date status on the import levels of targeted Chinese apparel please go to www.cbp.gov/quotas/files/cntxtrpt.htm
