Congress has approved duty suspensions on imports of four types of textile machinery that are not
made in the United States. The duty suspensions will apply to high-speed shuttleless looms, some
shuttle looms and certain ink-jet printing machines, and what Customs classifications call “other
printing machines.” The duty suspensions were non-controversial, but they had been held off for,
months, as they were part of a bill that did contain some controversial issues. In addition to the
action on textile machinery, the legislation also lifted duties on imported cashmere fibers that,
likewise, do not compete with US products.
December 2004
