US apparel imports from Vietnam increased

US apparel imports from Vietnam strongly rose in the two  months of 2008 although far from rocketing after the removal of US quotas. Prices slightly declined, remaining unchanged over the past two years, on average. Compared with China, Vietnam remains cheaper. US apparel imports from Vietnam strongly rose in the first two months this year but were far from rocketing, although import quotas were removed on 1 January 2008.

Vietnam developed a speciality with man-made fiber and mostly polyester- articles, its share of the US import market did not improve in these categories in the first two months. Vietnam's share even declined from 28% to 25% in 644 (women's MMF suits). The most impressive success may be claimed with cotton dresses in category 336 with shipments nearly doubling in value terms from the same period last year.