CITA Sets Cap on Duty- and Quota-Free Benefits for Sub-Saharan Assembled Apparel

The Commerce Department's International Trade Administration Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA) has published a new 12-month cap on duty- and quota-free benefits for imports of apparel articles assembled in beneficiary sub-Saharan African countries using regional and third-country fabric.

The new cap is effective Oct. 1 and will extend through Sept. 30, 2025, it said in a notice. The aggregate quantity of imports eligible for preferential treatment under these provisions will be 1,757,888,503 square meters equivalent. Of this amount, 878,944,252 square meters equivalent will be available to apparel articles imported under the special rule for lesser-developed countries, CITA said. Apparel articles entered in excess of these quantities will be subject to otherwise applicable tariffs.

These quantities are calculated using the aggregate square meter equivalents of all apparel articles imported into the U.S., derived from the set of Harmonized System lines listed in the Annex to the World Trade Organization Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC), and the conversion factors for units of measure into square meter equivalents used by the U.S. in implementing the ATC, CITA said.