This paper relaxes the common assumption that prices are proxies for product quality by using both price and quantity data to estimate the quality of U.S. imports. The estimated qualities reveal significant heterogeneity in the scope for quality differentiation, or "quality ladders," within product markets. Markets with shorter quality ladders are associated with larger employment and output declines due to low-wage competition. The findings suggest that the impact of low-wage competition on U.S. industries varies depending on the length of the quality ladder, with longer ladders insulating industries from the negative effects of competition. The paper also demonstrates that quality specialization has important implications for the U.S. labor market, particularly in terms of contestable jobs and the vulnerability of industries to import competition.This paper relaxes the common assumption that prices are proxies for product quality by using both price and quantity data to estimate the quality of U.S. imports. The estimated qualities reveal significant heterogeneity in the scope for quality differentiation, or "quality ladders," within product markets. Markets with shorter quality ladders are associated with larger employment and output declines due to low-wage competition. The findings suggest that the impact of low-wage competition on U.S. industries varies depending on the length of the quality ladder, with longer ladders insulating industries from the negative effects of competition. The paper also demonstrates that quality specialization has important implications for the U.S. labor market, particularly in terms of contestable jobs and the vulnerability of industries to import competition.