Through the first four months of this year, U.S. imports of apparel from China were up 79 percent over the same period a year ago, led by increases in cotton clothing. Imports of those three products increased more than tenfold in the first six months of the year, U.S. textile groups say. In part to address that surge, the Commerce Department imposed caps May 23 on those three categories -- knit shirts, cotton trousers and underwear -- and limited growth in their import from China to 7.5 percen

Decline and financial crisis has poorly affected the cotton textile industry in West Bengal. At present only five out of 19 mills in the private sector and three out of 12 mills in the public sector are fully functional. Nine cotton textile mills were shut down by the government in the public sector, which was operated by the National Textile Corporation Ltd.State Labour Department sources informed that mills, both in the private and public sectors had been facing serious problems since almost d

The Ministry of Commerce announced on Saturday that China and the United States decided to continue their discussions to try to find out resolution for the textile trade disputes during the second round.The two sides held a new round of technical level consultation concerning US limit of clothing imports from China on Friday, the ministry said in a statement. "The two sides agreed to keep the channel of exchange open and continue the consultations to find out an appropriate way to solve the text

The Australian Wool and Sheep Industry Taskforce and international retailers are negotiating a breakthrough agreement to ensure continuing support for Australian Merino wool.The ground-breaking initiative was developed by the Taskforce to meet the needs of retailers which have been subject to a misinformation and harassment campaign by People for the Ethical Treatment for Animals (PETA) over the husbandry practice of mulesing.Taskforce spokesman and President of WoolProducers, Robert Pietsch, sa

Greenyarn, a Boston firm developing advanced fabrics for consumers seeking eco-friendly alternatives to conventional materials, has developed a deodorizing fabric made from bamboo. The company has scaled up production of this material which it has named ?co-fabric,?and is now supplies it to the Asian and American fabric and garment markets. The active ingredient of Eco-fabric are nano-particles of bamboo charcoal, made from the Moso Bamboo (Phyllostachys heterocycla pubescens), the world's m

Over the past two years it has become evident that the textile industry is one of the most vulnerable in the Italian economy not just from competition from the rest of Europe, but increasingly from Asia, notably China.The results of a quarterly production survey conducted by Sistema Moda Italia clearly highlight this trend, showing that textile production activity continued to slow during the first quarter of 2005. An expected recovery in exports did not materialise and order levels for the all

China and United States (US) will talk on textile frictions between the two sides, a China's Ministry of Commerce official said."This round, which still concentrates on the technical level, is expected to pave the way for further talks in the Sino-US Joint Commission for Commerce and Trade to be held next Monday in Beijing," the source said.The last round of Sino-US talks, in the wake of a deal China made with the European Union was held on June 17.Some insiders are wondering whether discussions

At the annual function of All Pakistan Textile Processing Mills Association (APTPMA), Textile Minister - Mushtaq Ali Cheema announced that national textile policy will be declared by the middle of August.Cheema informed that policy, which is to be announced after national trade policy will cover all the left matters, which were not covered to in the federal budget 2005-06.Responding to APTPMA? appeal for zero-rating of caustic soda imports, Cheema stated Government is seriously mulling to reduce

President Bush stirred up the Group of Eight Summit this week by proposing that the EU drop all agricultural subsidies around $112 billion per year, given to the farmers by wealthy countries, by the year 2010 simultaneously. The pretext for doing this is to benefit African countries by expanding access to developed countries' markets. This comes as WTO negotiators begin intense discussions on agricultural issues that could lead to a tentative agreement by early August. That President Bush would

Three categories of clothing were nearly filled on yesterday night with U.S. port authorities expected to close doors today or tomorrow. Beijing ordered halt in shipments of a further fourth category, in addition. Sino-U.S. trade talks are under way to resolve trade differences and reach a comprehensive agreement. As predicted, three of the seven restricted categories were nearly filled on Wednesday, 6 July. All subsequent shipments of these three products arriving henceforth in U.S. ports wer