USA: Trade Chiefs Unveil Plans To Axe Textile Import Tariffs
US trade chiefs on Tuesday unveiled radical plans to axe tariffs on all clothing and textile imports from 34 nations in the western hemisphere within five years as part of a planned regional free trade agreement. US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick said the proposals are conditional on the trading partners doing the same and come at a time when the US textile manufacturing industry is in crisis amid a flood of cheap imports.