2003 was important transitional year for us apparel & footwear industry

For Immediate Release Contact: Nate Herman
703.797.9062
2003 WAS IMPORTANT TRANSITIONAL YEAR FOR
U.S. APPAREL & FOOTWEAR INDUSTRY
IMPORTS FROM BURMA FALL TO ZERO AS SANCTIONS TAKE EFFECT
ARLINGTON, VA – 13 February 2004 – American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA)
President & CEO Kevin M. Burke commented on today’s release of full year 2003 trade data
by the U.S. Department of Commerce noting that “2003 was a banner year for the U.S. apparel
and footwear industries.” Furthermore, Burke noted, “The significant growth in imports over
2003 from a wide breadth of countries demonstrates U.S. apparel and footwear firms continue
to diversify their sourcing in order to bring U.S. families the widest variety of high quality
clothes and shoes at affordable prices. Particularly in apparel, growth in imports from a wide
variety of countries means that no one country dominates the U.S. apparel market.
Burke was particularly pleased with the latest import numbers from Burma. “The latest
numbers show that the import ban put in place by the United States is working. U.S. imports of
apparel and footwear from Burma have dropped to zero.” Yet, Burke expressed concern that,
“the ruling military junta in Burma continues to commit human rights atrocities against its own
people on an almost daily basis.” Burke continued, “Therefore, AAFA strongly urges the U.S.
government to work with Burma’s neighbors and other countries around the world to further
increase pressure on the ruling military junta to stop human rights abuses and allow
democratic reform for the Burmese people.”
Throughout 2003, Central America remained the number one apparel supplier to the U.S.
market and the fastest growing export market for U.S. textiles. Burke feared, however, that the
fact that Central America’s growth failed to keep pace with overall import growth in 2003 meant
that, “Central America’s position as number one supplier and the fastest growing and third
largest U.S. export market is threatened.” Without quick Congressional passage of the
U.S./Central America Free Trade Agreement (FTA) this summer, “2005 will be a very difficult
1601 North Kent Street, Suite 1200, Arlington, VA 22209 www.apparelandfootwear.org p (703) 524-1864 (800) 520-2262 f (703) 522-6741

year for Central America and the U.S. textile industry, leading to potentially widespread and
significant job losses in both industries."
U.S. apparel imports for 2003 grew 9.3 percent over 2002 to 18.9 billion square meter
equivalents (SMEs), according to new figures released today by the U.S. Department of
Commerce. The value of U.S. apparel imports increased 7.4 percent in 2003 to $61.2 billion.
U.S. imports from Central America (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and
Nicaragua) continued to grow, increasing 6.2 percent in 2003 compared with 2002. Central
America is the largest U.S. apparel supplier, controlling 15.5 percent of all U.S. imports.
U.S. textile exports for 2003 grew 1.8 percent over 2002 to $10.5 billion, according to new
figures released today by the U.S. Department of Commerce. While textile exports to the top
U.S. markets of Mexico (-1.7 percent) and Canada (-2.7 percent) declined for the third straight
year, U.S. textile exports to Central America (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras
and Nicaragua) continued to grow, increasing 8.4 percent in 2003 compared with 2002.
Central America is the U.S. textile industry’s fastest growing and third largest export market,
controlling 15.4 percent of all U.S. textile exports.
Continuing long-term declines in imports from Mexico, which fell 8.3 percent in 2003, helped
knock Mexico out of its long-held slot as the second largest apparel supplier to the United
States. Mexico fell to the number three spot, controlling 10.5 percent of all U.S. apparel
imports. China is now the second largest supplier to the United States, controlling 12.1
percent of total U.S. apparel imports in 2003. U.S. imports from 14 of the top 20 suppliers,
including Central America (1 st ), China (2 nd ), the Dominican Republic (6 th ), Vietnam (7 th ),
Indonesia (8 th ), Taiwan (9 th ), India (12 th ), Cambodia (13 th ), Thailand (14 th ), Pakistan (15 th ),
Macau (17 th ), Turkey (18 th ) and Russia (20 th ), also grew significantly in 2003. U.S. imports
from Hong Kong (5 th ), South Korea (10 th ) and Canada (19 th ) followed Mexico’s (2 nd ) lead, all
declining significantly in 2003. U.S. apparel imports from Bangladesh (4 th ), the Philippines
(11 th ) and Sri Lanka (16 th ) held steady or declined slightly in 2003.
U.S. imports from Vietnam grew 134.4 percent during the period, making it the seventh largest
apparel supplier to the United States, accounting for 3.9 percent of all imports. U.S. imports
from Vietnam, however, dramatically slowed in November and December due to quotas, put in
place by the U.S. government last May, becoming filled in a number of major categories for the
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year. This slowdown knocked Vietnam out of the sixth spot that it held for most of 2003.
Thanks to the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and the Andean Trade Promotion &
Drug Eradication Act (ATPDEA), U.S. imports from sub-Saharan Africa grew at a rate of 43.9
percent and U.S. imports from the Andean countries of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru
grew at a rate of 34.2 percent in 2003, with those regions now accounting for 2.1 percent and
1.1 percent of total U.S. apparel imports, respectively. The top five sources of apparel (by
volume) during 2003 were Central America (2.9 billion SME), China (2.3 billion SME), Mexico
(2.0 billion SME), Bangladesh (913 million SME) and Hong Kong (785 million SME).
U.S. total footwear imports in 2003 climbed 3.7 percent versus 2002 to 2.0 billion pairs,
according to figures released today by the U.S. Department of Commerce. The value of U.S.
footwear imports increased 1.2 percent in 2003 to $15.6 billion. China grew 5.2 percent in
2003, giving it control of 81.2 percent of all U.S. footwear imports, while imports from Vietnam
grew 61.6 percent in 2003, making it the fifth largest footwear supplier to the U.S. market.
Brazil, the United States' number two supplier, also grew in 2003, with U.S. imports from Brazil
increasing 1.6 percent to 103.3 million pairs or 5.1 percent of all U.S. footwear imports.
Reversing many years of decline, U.S. footwear imports from top twenty suppliers Mexico (6 th )
and Taiwan (8 th ) experienced significant increases in 2003 versus 2002. India (12 th ), Canada
(13 th ), Romania (17 th ), France (18 th ) and Poland (19 th ) are four other top 20 suppliers growing
at a quick pace. The top ten suppliers in 2003 supplied over 97 percent of all U.S. footwear
imports. The top ten U.S. import sources of footwear (by quantity) in 2003 were China (1.6
billion pairs), Brazil (103.3 million pairs), Indonesia (56.9 million pairs), Italy (40.3 million pairs),
Vietnam (34.0 million pairs), Mexico (30.9 million pairs), Thailand (25.3 million pairs), Taiwan
(14.1 million pairs), the Dominican Republic (10.7 million pairs) and Hong Kong (10.1 million
pairs).
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The American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) is the national trade association representing
apparel, footwear and other sewn products companies, and their suppliers, which compete in the global
market. AAFA's mission is to promote and enhance its members' competitiveness, productivity and
profitability in the global market by minimizing regulatory, commercial, political, and trade restraints.
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