2004 US Textile, Clothing Quotas Nearly Allocated

Vietnam hopes to complete its 2004 textile and garment quota
allocations by next month a US delegation has been told.

Speaking on Friday at a meeting of the American Chamber of Commerce following a trade trip to the United States, Vietnam''s Trade Minister Truong Dinh Tuyen said new allocations are likely to go to factories with a track record of fulfilling orders.

This follows problems earlier this year when a number of US retailers failed to get enough garments because quota assignments did not always go to factories with orders.

Textile and clothing are Vietnam''s second biggest export earner after crude oil, providing turnover of $2.92 billion in the first nine months of this year. A bilateral pact caps Vietnams exports to America at $1.7 billion in 2003 and increases by between two and seven percent annually through 2004.