Table linen

China is the world's leading supplier of home textiles, like cotton fabric, curtain fabric, and table linen with exports in 2006 rising 44 percent to reach $14.7 billion. The elimination of quotas on certain home textile products in January 2005 and 2006 helped accelerate export growth even further. Overseas shipments in the first five months of 2006 amounted to $6.2 billion soaring 45 percent year-on-year. However, the steep rise in exports raised an alarm in the US and the EU, resulting in safeguard actions from the two regions. While China agreed to limit exports of cotton fabric, curtain fabric, and table linen to the EU, the US has begun investigating the surge in shipments of drapery. If the quotas are reinstated, the limits could be determined by the last quarter of the year. Similar action on bed linen is also possible from the US, as exports in the line increased by 79.6 percent in the period January to May 2006 from a year ago.