Preliminary review of an investigation into suspect textile shipments from Vietnam indicates that allegations of illegal trade could be substantiated.

"There are problems. There are definitely problems," said Janet Labuda, director of the U.S. Customs Service, in a Monday telephone interview. Labuda declined to provide any specifics, but confirmed that officials continue to collate and analyze information gathered during a three-week investigative tour of more than 230 Vietnamese textile operations.

The issue is especially touchy for a domestic industry being swamped by foreign imports and what are alleged to be unfair trade practices by Asian producers, specifically those in China.

Statistics from the U.S. Department of Commerce indicate Vietnamese shipment numbers have exploded since early last year. U.S. textile imports from Vietnam totaled $49 million in 2001 but soared to $952 million in 2002.

U.S. manufacturers were especially piqued in April when federal officials signed off on a trade agreement with Vietnam less than a week after the U.S. Customs Service announced it had uncovered documents indicating Chinese textile shipments were coming into the United States labeled as having been produced in Vietnam.

The new pact allows Vietnamese shipments based on those latest numbers, which may have been inflated by such illegal shipments. Moreover, the agreement allows those numbers to jump even higher to nearly $1.7 billion.