The US Department of Commerce announced that it would not impose anti-dumping duties on apparel imports from Vietnam in the short term.

After Vietnam's accession to the WTO and quotas were eliminated in January 2007, imports of apparel from Vietnam surged in the US. The US has been implementing a monitoring program of apparel imports on five product categories, namely trousers, shirts, underwear, swimwear and jumpers since January 11, 2007.

After reviewing the data from the monitoring program from August 2007 to January 2008, the department waved an antidumping duty for the short term as there is insufficient evidence of dumping.

The US is planning to extend the monitoring period for six months till January 2009. Although it welcomed the announcement of the US Department of Commerce, Vietnam's textile and apparel association (VITAS) asked the US to put an end to the extended monitoring program which is against WTO's rules and affects the business, it said.