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China is the world's leading supplier of home textiles, with exports in 2004 rising 24 percent to reach $4.7 billion. The elimination of quotas on certain home textile products like thread, etc. in January 2005 helped accelerate export growth even further. Overseas shipments in the first five months of 2005 amounted to $2.2 billion soaring 40 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 bed 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 77.6 percent in the period January to May 2005 from a year ago.