The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit yesterday lifted an injunction that prevented the US government from ruling on the 12 threat-based China safeguard petitions filed by the US textile industry in 2004.

The injunction, which was issued by the US Court of International Trade, has delayed the US government from considering the threat-based cases for four months.

With the injunction now lifted, the US government can rule immediately on the threat-based safeguard cases filed on categories where the public comment period has already been completed.

The categories are: cotton trousers (categories 347/48), manmade fibre trousers (647/48), cotton knit shirts(338/9), manmade fibre knit shirts(638/9), men’s shirts (340/640) and underwear (352/652).

Approval of the threat-based cases would enable the US government to limit the growth of Chinese imports to 7.5 per cent.

NCTO president Cass Johnson said in a statement: “The Court has ruled that the industry’s six initial threat cases may now move forward and we are asking for the government to move immediately to render final decisions on these cases.

“The Court’s ruling includes three categories which the government self-initiated safeguard investigations based on market disruption (cotton trousers, cotton knit shirts, underwear) earlier this year.”

In the first two months of the year, imports from China in the six threat-based apparel categories increased by 179 million garments and increased by 546 per cent.

In the cotton trousers category, preliminary data for March show imports from China up nearly 1,600 per cent for the first three months of the year.