It must be noted that the annual limit applies to aggregate imports into the U.S. of apparel under AGOA. As such, the quota does not discriminate between the (Sub-Saharan African) sources of these imports, and is applied on a first-come first-serve basis. In theory, therefore, it is possible for the annual preference level to be reached before the end of a particular annual period (which runs from October to September). However, the trade data shows that this ceiling is currently still a far way off, especially considering its "moving target" nature (i.e. the fact that the annual quota is re-adjusted upwards based on a proportion of total U.S. textile and apparel imports).
Data for the full-year period October 2002 – September 2003 indicates that the quota fill rate (i.e. utilisation rate) stood at 35.94%. The quota for that year was 735,905,928 SME, and actual quota utilisation fell well short (see data below). Quotas therefore did not in any way restrict apparel exports under AGOA during that year.
The quota utilisation rate for the annual period October 2003 to September 2004 was set at 956,568,715 SME. For the 12-month period to September 30, 2004, a total of 359,620,442 SME had entered the US under AGOA, which translates into a quota fill-rate of 37.59%. In the 2004/2005 quota year (spanning October 2004 – September 2005) the utilisation rate for the 12-month period to September 2005 stood at 31.54%. The total allowable quota for the full 12-monthperiod was 1,076,876,652 SME. Currently, for the period October 2005 to December 2005, quota utilisation is 5.97%.
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