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Worldwide Customs & Regulatory Updates
December 31, 2004 Textile and Apparel Quota Changes in 2005
Textiles and wearing apparel manufactured in a World Trade Organization (WTO) country and exported to the U.S. on or after January 1, 2005, will no longer be subject to quota restrictions. The previous agreements between the U.S. and other countries will expire on December 31, 2004, and they will be replaced WTO trading rules effective January 1, 2005.
Highlights of this change are as follows:
- Goods exported from a WTO country on and after January 1, 2005 will not be subject to quota restrictions for import to the U.S.A.
- Textile visas will no longer be required for goods exported from WTO countries on/after January 1, 2005.
- Textiles and apparel exported on/after January 1, 2005 will no longer require "live entry." Live entry requires payment of duties/taxes and review of entry summary prior to release.
However, please note the following requirements:
- Certain commodities from China will still be subject to quota restraints, even though China is a WTO country. This is because China agreed to certain restrictions as part of its accession to the WTO.
- Textiles and apparel manufactured in non-WTO countries that are subject to quota restraint are not affected by this change. Live quota entry will still be required for these commodities after January 1, 2005.
For more information of the new quota changes, please visit the U.S. Customs and Border Protection website at:
http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/trade/trade_programs/textiles_and_quotas/wto_quota_elimination/
and Hong Kong Trade and Industry Department website at:
http://www.tid.gov.hk/english/aboutus/tradecircular/ne/series1/2004/exptr2004.html
or you may call Trade and Industry Department hotline at 2398-5288.
FedEx will continue to monitor the status of the changes and periodically update the site. We strongly encourage you to regularly visit this site to stay informed of futures updates.
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