Multi Fibre Arrangement (MFA)

Importing countries such as the US and members of the European Community negotiated bilateral quotas limiting yearly volumes by product category and country, normally growing at least 6 percent a year. Exporters needed quota allocations and export visas for shipments. The WTO Agreement on Textiles and Clothing replaced the MFA in 1995 and integrated textiles into GATT rules in stages over ten years, ending all quotas on January 1, 2005. It imposes no obligations today.

The end of MFA quotas in 2005 reshaped apparel sourcing that fulfillment networks still serve. Quotas had spread production across dozens of countries; once they were removed, volume concentrated in China, Bangladesh and Vietnam, producing the high-SKU, fast-replenishment apparel flows that e-commerce 3PLs handle today. Quota limits also explain practices such as transshipment to borrow another country's quota, which customs agencies still investigate. When brands shift apparel production for tariff reasons now, they repeat a sourcing reshuffle similar to 2005.

• Country of OriginCountry where goods were made

• World Trade Organization (WTO) Established1995 · The WTO takes over from GATT as the trade rules forum
• China Joins the WTO2001 · China becomes the 143rd member of the WTO
• Rana Plaza Collapse2013 · A garment factory collapse kills 1,134 in Bangladesh

• General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)1947 · Postwar treaty that set most-favored-nation tariff rules

1. WTO: Textiles, back in the mainstream wto.org