Summary: In response to a congressional request, GAO reviewed the current administration of the Multifiber Arrangement (MFA), an international agreement that provides the legal framework for regulating textile trade.
In the United States, MFA is implemented by the Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA), which consists of representatives from the Departments of Commerce, State, Labor, and the Treasury, and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. CITA determines whether and when to request consultations with an exporting country about restricting its exports of a particular category of textiles or apparel. GAO found that the structure of the decisionmaking process within the administration and CITA is generally adequate. However, weaknesses in information on the domestic economy lessen the persuasiveness of market disruption statements, which are required with each request for consultation on restricting imports. The data for these statements are collected annually and, therefore, are too old to reflect current conditions. They are not compatible with the categories in the consultation requests and contain only vague assertions as to the current state of the market for the category in question.
