Textile makers oppose US quota bid
By Jiang Wei (China Daily)
Updated: 2005-04-07 14:08

China's textile manufacturers said yesterday they strongly opposed the United States Government's attempts to impose new quotas on three categories of textiles imported from China.

"The move by the United States violated the basic principle of free trade," said Wang Shenyang, chairman of the China Chamber of Commerce for the Import and Export of Textiles, adding that his department will appeal to the central government to initiate reprisals if the United States insists on curbing China's textile exports in such a way.

Although statistics from customs show that China's exports to the United States increased greatly in the first quarter of this year, Wang said it only meant that trade was seriously limited by quotas before this year.

"It will take time for textile trade to come back to a normal status because it had been depressed by quotas for a long time," he said.

The US Government cannot justify its protective measures with statistics from just three months, he added.

The expert argued that textiles the US imported in these categories exceeded its own production by two to three times over the past three years, so imports did not disturb the US market but rather benefited American consumers.

"The World Trade Organization members had set a grace period for the quota removal," said Wang. "During this 10-year-long period, the United States just managed to tailor exports from its trade partners instead of adjusting its domestic textile industry to adapt to the international trade."

The US decided on Monday to investigate three categories of textiles imported from China, including cotton knit shirts and blouses, cotton trousers, and underwear made of cotton and man-made fibres.

They claim the products from China flooded its market in the first three months of this year and hurt its domestic industry.

The decision was made according to a vote by the US Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements, which is made up of officials from the Department of Commerce and other government agencies.

US textile manufacturers are expected to appeal to the US government this week to control textile imports of another 11 types of item from China.

The European Commission was also expected to discuss how to apply safeguard measures on Chinese textile imports yesterday but the results are not yet available.

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