The US Government has suspended action on around 24 import safeguard petitions covering 42 categories of Chinese imports of textiles and apparel but released the products that were embargoed earlier this year. The products had been held in bonded warehouses because they exceeded permissible quota levels. To avoid a new set of quota on Chinese imports, the action taken will go into effect from January 1 2006. The release of the embargoed goods was part of the comprehensive agreement between the United States and China, placing quotas on some 32 textile and apparel product categories. Products released
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| from the embargo include cotton and man-made fiber trousers, cotton and man-made fiber knit shirts, brassieres and underwear. The product categories that are released will be included in the comprehensive agreement covering imports from January 1, 2006 through 2008, including other products. That agreement provides for import restraints on 32 of the most sensitive product categories. While growth rates vary somewhat from category to category, the growth rates for textile products are 12.5 per cent in 2006 and 2007 and15 per cent in 2008. Importers, however, say they are opposed to future use of the safeguard mechanism, which they have opposed from the outset. 
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