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Trade in Cotton and Cotton Apparel: Issues and Directions

G. A. Raines, III and M. A. Messura


 
ABSTRACT

The objective of this paper was to study quota usage patterns in countries that export cotton apparel to the United States and to address how sourcing of cotton apparel may be affected by the eventual elimination of quotas on textiles and apparel. The study determined several countries’ quota usage patterns for various categories of cotton apparel, these countries’ apparel labor costs, and tabulated the product of these two factors. Countries that most frequently ranked high were seen as likely to gain from a shift in U.S. sourcing patterns after 2004, resulting in an eventual increase in market share into the U.S. Countries that most frequently ranked low were seen as likely to suffer a shift away in sourcing after 2004, resulting in decreased market share into the U.S. The analysis found significant variation in potential sourcing shifts among countries, notably with the Indian Subcontinent as the highest-potential region and the Far East as the lowest-potential region to benefit from the quota phase-out after 2004. The research is not meant to be inclusive of all factors involved in the sourcing decision. However, the use of quota analysis is seen as a useful tool in helping to understand possible shifts in sourcing patterns upon the quota phase-out for textiles and apparel in 2005.





Reprinted from Proceedings of the 2001 Beltwide Cotton Conferences pp. 250 - 252
©National Cotton Council, Memphis TN

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Document last modified XXXXXX, XXX XX 2001