By Julia K. Hughes
As you gather with friends and family to celebrate the holidays and welcome 2015, raise a glass to an important anniversary for the fashion industry, marking an event that helped many brands and retailers grow and thrive over the past decade.
Ten years ago, the fashion industry was facing a time of great uncertainty.
The good news was that the Multi-Fiber Arrangement (MFA), the global textile and apparel quota system that had governed the industry’s trade since 1974, was scheduled to expire on December 31, 2004. Theoretically, fashion and apparel brands and retailers should have been able to manage their sourcing and supply chains without restrictions beginning January 1, 2005. This was incredibly important because even in 2004, the United States had more than 800 quotas on products manufactured in 44 countries.
The bad news, however, was that the U.S. government was attempting to put in place new quotas on major apparel imports from China, which would have kept the restrictive quotas on the industry’s top supplier. Many brands and retailers were nervous about what other restrictions might come their way, such as dumping cases or even efforts to reinstate the quotas entirely.
Click here to read the entire op-ed on the Sourcing Journal website.