Textiles - History





Overview
Beginning in the early 1900’s textile production became predominant in the Southeast where
labor and raw materials were cheap. Since the 1950’s however, the textile and apparel industries
have followed the general trend of all manufacturing; employment has decreased while
production has increased.  This is largely due to innovations in technology and corporate
organization.


• 1960s: The Short Term Arrangement Regarding International Trade in Cotton Textiles (1961)
    and then the Long Term Arrangement Regarding International Trade in Cotton Textiles (1963-1973)
    went into effect, placing some controls on international textile trade.    As part of the General
    Agreement of Tariffs and Trade (GATT), the International Trade Centre of the UNTAD/WTO
    was formed in 1964.

• 1970s – 1980s: The Multi-Fibre Agreement (MFA) went into effect in 1974, and the goal
    was to promote international trade, but in a stable and equitable way, such that the benefits
    of trade were dispersed among exporting and importing countries. Because the MFA placed
    restrictions on trade, textiles and apparel were not part of the GATT and the WTO.

• 1990s: The MFA was initially a temporary agreement, but it was renewed several times and
     lasted until 1994, when it was replaced by the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC).   The
     ATC came out of the Uruguay Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations in 1986, and it was
     meant to facilitate a gradual phase-out of the MFA (elimination of all quotas), promoting
     compliance with WTO rules. The North American Free Trade Agreement (1994) also went into
     effect in the 1990s, leading to increased trade between the United States and Mexico.

• 2000s: Since NAFTA, North Carolina has lost half of its textile and apparel industry jobs,
    despite increased production and exports.   The apparel industry in North Carolina has moved
    off-shore, drawn by cheaper labor and raw materials.    Due to the close relationship between
    the apparel and textile industries, textile production soon followed.   The United States has
     participated in other regional trade agreement negotiations, such as the Central American
     Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA).    On January 1, 2005, the ATC ended and the MFA was
     fully phased out, meaning that all restrictions and quotas on textile and apparel trade
      were removed.