Analysis On The Trade Barriers And The Countermeasures For China Clothing Exporters In Post-quota Era

January 1, 2005 marked the end of the textile quotas under the 40-plus-year-old Multifiber Arrangement. The elimination of the quota system comes as part of the WTO Agreement on Textile and Clothing, which aimed at freeing global trade in textile and clothing. In the post-quota era of global textile trade, the free access of textile products into any WTO member country is expected to optimize the resource allocation in a fair and free competitive environment. As a major manufacturer and exporter of textile and clothing products, China has long been restricted by the quota system. The elimination of the quota system presented us with unprecedented opportunities and market potentials.In spite of the opportunities, there are a number of serious problems facing textile exporters. Among the exporters, there are the long-standing problems of hostile price competition, homogenous products, and low quality management. In the outside market, three lines of barriers have been set up against Chinese textile exporters. These include 1) the three disadvantageous clauses, i.e., our market economy status, special protection of textile products, and special protection of specific products; 2) exclusion of us in regional free trade agreements; and 3) anti-dumping and anti-subsidy in European and North American markets. How we should act in response to the opportunities and challenges has become an increasingly important question.This paper applies the theories in international trade, industrial organization, and strategic management,there are six chapters: preface, the general situation of China clothing exporting, analysis on the internal environment of China clothing, analysis on the external environment of China clothing exporting, analysis on the trade barriers against China clothing exporting, discussion on the methods to counter the trade barriers. From a global perspective, this paper evaluates the competitive position of Chinese clothing industry in the world market, and based on this, the author proposes four countermeasures that Chinese clothing exporters may use to counter the trade barriers and other challenges in the post-quota era. Specifically, there are 1) it is imperative that Chinese clothing exporters recognize the importance of maintaining sustainable growth; 2) proactive measures should be taken in trade conflicts; 3) internal management should be enhanced with innovation; and 4)clothing companies should shift away from the fundamental strategy of expanding via volume increases and price competition.