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News Release 24-005
Inv. No(s). 332-602
Contact: Elizabeth Nesbitt, 202-205-1819
The U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) is undertaking a new factfinding investigation that will examine the export competitiveness of the apparel industries in Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, and Pakistan.
This investigation, Apparel: Export Competitiveness of Certain Foreign Suppliers to the United States (Investigation No. 332-602), was requested by the U.S. Trade Representative in a letter received on December 20, 2023.
As requested, the USITC, an independent, nonpartisan federal agency, will prepare a public report. The report will provide, to the extent practicable:
- A comparison of the relative U.S. market shares held by Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, and Pakistan currently (up to and including calendar year 2023, if available) and five (2018) and ten (2013) years ago; and an analysis of changing patterns in market shares and trade including against other top suppliers, noting any significant shifts;
- Country-specific profiles of the apparel industries in the above-listed countries, including information on investment, vertical integration, duty-free access to the U.S. market, wages and labor productivity, and sourcing of inputs, as well as an assessment of the export competitiveness of each country in the U.S. market considering major factors of competitiveness such as trade, industry structure, price and costs, product differentiation, and reliability, using available statistical and qualitative information;
- A review of general literature on the key determinants driving export competitiveness in the global apparel industry, to the extent that it is relevant to conditions in the selected countries; and
- A data appendix, to the degree that additional data relevant to competitiveness are identified by the review of the literature and are available.
The USITC expects to submit its report to the Trade Representative by August 30, 2024.
The USITC will hold a public hearing in connection with the investigation at 9:30 a.m. on March 7, 2024. A link to the hearing will be posted on the Commission’s website at https://www.usitc.gov/calendarpad/calendar.html.
Requests to appear at the hearing should be filed no later than 5:15 p.m. on February 21, 2024, with the Secretary, U.S. International Trade Commission, 500 E Street SW, Washington, DC 20436. See below for important information regarding filing a request to appear at a USITC hearing.
The USITC also welcomes written submissions for the record. Written submissions should be addressed to the Secretary of the Commission and should be submitted no later than 5:15 p.m. on March 22, 2024. All written submissions, except for confidential business information, will be available for public inspection. See below for important information regarding the filing of written submissions for USITC investigations.
IMPORTANT: All filings to appear at the hearing and written submissions must be made through the Commission’s Electronic Document Information System (EDIS, https://edis.usitc.gov). No in-person paper-based filings or paper copies of any electronic filings will be accepted until further notice. Persons with questions regarding electronic filing should contact the Office of the Secretary, Docket Services Division (EDIS3Help@USITC.gov), or consult the Commission’s Handbook on Filing Procedures.
Further information on the scope of the investigation is available in the USITC’s notice of investigation, dated January 16, 2024, which can be downloaded from the USITC Internet site (www.usitc.gov) or may be obtained by contacting the Office of the Secretary at commissionhearings@usitc.gov.
About factfinding investigations: USITC general factfinding investigations, such as this one, cover matters related to tariffs, trade, and competitiveness and are generally conducted under section 332(g) of the Tariff Act of 1930 at the request of the U.S. Trade Representative, the House Committee on Ways and Means, or the Senate Committee on Finance. The resulting reports convey the Commission’s objective findings and independent analyses on the subjects investigated. The Commission makes no recommendations on policy or other matters in its general factfinding reports. Upon completion of each investigation, the USITC submits its findings and analyses to the requester. General factfinding investigation reports are subsequently released to the public unless they are classified by the requester for national security reasons.