Elimination of Visa Requirements for Textile Shipments Imported From China

Issue 2, January 6, 2009

The Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA) has directed the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to cancel all ELVIS requirements for goods exported from China on and after January 1, 2009.

On January 1, 2002, by agreement of the World Trade Organization (WTO), textile quotas and visas for shipments between WTO countries were eliminated. However, by bilateral agreement, the United States and China maintained a quota/visa process that still required visas for shipments of textile products from China to the US. Under this agreement, visas have been transmitted electronically via a program named ELVIS. The original 2002 program was renewed in 2005 for another three years. The agreement has now run its term and will end on December 31, 2008. This time the agreement is not being renewed.

As a result, there will no longer be VISA or ELVIS requirements for Chinese textile goods that are exported from China on and after January 1, 2009. Textile shipments from China will now be treated in the same way as textile shipments from every other WTO country.

The ELVIS requirement and quota requirements will, however, continue to remain in effect until further notice for all Chinese goods that were exported from China prior to January 1, 2009, even if entered in 2009.

Importers of textile goods from China may want to consider holding shipments until after January 1, 2009 to avoid paying for visas, rather than shipping during the last week of December.

For more information please contact Karl Krueger, DHL Regulatory Compliance at karl.krueger@dhl.com.