US publishes new annual limit on AGOA apparel imports
The United States has set new limits on duty and quota-free imports of apparel articles from sub-Saharan African countries under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).
For apparel articles wholly assembled in one or more beneficiary sub-Saharan African country from regional and third-country fabric, the limit is now set at 1,784,195,681 square metres equivalent (SME) for fiscal 2014, which runs from 1 October 2013 to 30 September 2014.
Of this amount, 892,097,841 SME is available to apparel articles imported under the special rule for lesser-developed countries, regardless of the country of origin of the fabric used.
The limits are set so that US imports under AGOA are below 7% of total apparel imports into the US in the previous 12-months.
However, official data shows that total US textile and apparel imports under AGOA came to just 209.98m SME in 2012, and stand at 228.35m SME in the year ending July 2013.
* View current and historical quota limits and utilisation rates under AGOA elsewhere on AGOA.info at this link.