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OTEXA's October 2003 Textile and Apparel Trade Balance Report

The Commerce Department's Office of Textiles and Apparel (OTEXA) has issued its October 2003 Textile and Apparel Trade Balance Report (containing data through October 31, 2003). The Trade Balance Report shows imports and exports and calculates the trade balance for U.S. textile and apparel trade with the world and with major U.S. trading partners.

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(OTEXA notes that this report covers products of textile mills and apparel assembled from textile mill products, but does not include (a) raw cotton, unspun wool, or man-made fiber products that have not been processed into yarns with twist or (b) apparel of leather, fur, or plastic.)

According to this report, general U.S. textile and apparel imports (Customs value), exports (F.A.S. value), and trade balance (value) for year-to-date October 2003 versus year-to-date October 2002 changed by the following percentages:

Country/RegionImportsExportsTrade Balance
World10.13%- 2.06%13.38%
Canada- 1.25%- 1.80%3.25%
Mexico- 5.27%- 6.46%- 3.81%
China33.47%32.42%33.48%
South Korea- 9.91%8.86%- 10.68%
Hong Kong- 3.28%- 3.74%- 3.25%
Taiwan0.32%19.02%- 0.11%
Japan20.03%- 3.54%213.56%
EU155.77%- 1.36%8.14%
ASEAN23.83%17.70%23.94%
CBI (w/Haiti)2.59%- 1.45%6.40%
LDDC (w/o Haiti)9.89%23.51%9.84%

The Commerce Department states that the product coverage in this reportis "more extensive" than that in the Major Shippers Report because it includes certain products that have not been assigned a category number (and are not subject to quota or visa).

October 2003 report available at http://otexa.ita.doc.gov/msrpoint.htm