GENEVA — Two-way trade flows in apparel and textiles between the U.S. and the European Union posted double-digit gains in 2015, spurred by the economic recovery on both sides of the Atlantic, new trade data by the European Apparel and Textile Confederation showed.
EU textile exports in value terms to the U.S. expanded 16 percent to reach $2.97 billion. EU apparel shipments to the U.S. grew 21 percent to $3.39 billion, said Euratex, drawing on data compiled by the Textile and Clothing Information Center.
However, the data also revealed that U.S. textile and apparel shipments in 2015 to EU also posted major increases. EU textile imports sourced from the U.S. increased 16 percent to $1.5 billion, while apparel shipments were up 26 percent to $616 million.
Euratex also said the value of EU apparel exports to China expanded 19 percent to $1.4 billion and rose 20 percent to $2.1 billion to Hong Kong.
EU apparel exports grew 22 percent to South Korea, 19 percent to Canada, and 15 percent to both Mexico and Israel. EU apparel exports to Russia were down 29 percent to $2.31 billion.
On the EU apparel import front, aside from the strong performance by the U.S., the value of shipments increased 6 percent to $32.95 billion from China, 24 percent to $15 billion from Bangladesh, 11 percent to $5.64 billion from India, 31 percent to $3.24 billion from Cambodia and 26 percent to $3 billion from Vietnam.