Title: Comparison of PRC and Vietnam's responses to the elimination of US textile and apparel quotas: economic and cultural perspectives

Authors: Joseph Pelzman, Amir Shoham

Addresses: Department of Economics, George Washington University, Washington, DC 20052, USA. ' School of Business Administration, College of Management, Rishon L'Tzion 75190, Israel

Abstract: International trade in Textiles and Apparel (T&A) is no longer constrained by a global quota system. Trading has not come to a halt and the Peoples Republic of China (PRC) has not taken over the entire T&A trade, as many had predicted. This paper compares the responses of the PRC and Vietnam to the quotas| end by focusing on demand factors in the US market and supply considerations, institutional differences between the countries, their different government policies and unique cultures, which are used as proxies to determine supply-side responses. The specific items compared are based on the pre-2005 quotas for the PRC. Since Vietnam was relatively new in the sector, it had only 20 three-digit categories that overlapped with the PRC. The overwhelming result is that the PRC and Vietnam are increasingly becoming competitors on the low-end of the product chain. Unlike most predictions, the PRC did not crowd out its competitors.

Keywords: business; China; emerging markets; Vietnam; USA; United States; textiles; apparel industry; clothing industry; garment industry; international trade; textile quotas; apparel quotas; quota removal; institutional differences; government policy; culture; supply-side responses.

DOI: 10.1504/IJBEM.2010.035665

International Journal of Business and Emerging Markets, 2010 Vol.2 No.4, pp.385 - 408

Published online: 02 Oct 2010 *

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