Textile industry lobbyists in Washington, D.C., say U.S. restrictions on textile imports have helped push domestic production up slightly in the last few months.
If the trend continues through the end of the year, 2005 would be the first time in three years that production numbers have edged upward.
Domestic apparel production has also risen over the last few months, according to data from the American Manufacturing Trade Action Coalition, an industry group.
"We do not believe that the increase in textile and apparel output over the last four to six months is an accident," says Auggie Tantillo, AMTAC's executive director. "It is now apparent that one of the reasons why U.S. textile and apparel output began to increase was that the U.S. government actively began to move toward imposing safeguards on China."
According to data from the U.S. Federal Reserve Board, textile production has risen 2.4 percent since April, though overall production is still slightly lower than it was in January.
In early November, U.S. and Chinese negotiators reached a trade agreement that would cap the growth in imports of Chinese-made textiles and apparel for the next three years.
The deal covers 34 categories of goods that have accounted for more than $5 billion in U.S. imports from China this year.
Though there are some variations, growth rates for apparel products will be capped at 10 percent in 2006, 12.5 percent in 2007 and 15 percent in 2008. For textile products overall, the growth caps are 12.5 percent in 2006 and 2007 and 16 percent in 2008.
The deal also preserves the United States' right to impose temporary quotas in other categories if Chinese imports grow so fast that they threaten to disrupt the U.S. market.
U.S. and Chinese negotiators met more than five times since August to discuss a comprehensive textile-trade agreement, a major goal of many U.S. textile companies, before reaching an agreement.
