A group of US textile makers called for the government to restrict imports from Vietnam, which rose almost 15-fold in the first 10 months last year.
Exports of apparel and clothing accessories to the US from Vietnam rose to US$598 million in the January-to-October period, from US$40 million in the same period in 2001, according to the US.
International Trade Commission. The average import tariff on Vietnamese exports to the US fell to 3 percent from 40 percent after a US-Vietnam trade accord took effect in 2001.
"The US government must quickly negotiate a textile agreement with Vietnam imposing quotas on textile and apparel imports from that country," the American Textile Manufacturers Institute, a Washington-based group representing textile-products makers and processors, said in a statement.
"Such imports have soared since Vietnam was granted normal trade relations."
Garments and textiles were Vietnam's second-biggest export last year, accounting for US$2.71 billion or 16 percent of total export earnings, according to preliminary estimates by Vietnam's General Statistics Office.
The first round of negotiations on a garment and textile agreement between Vietnam and the US will probably begin during Lunar New Year celebrations.
RSS