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China, US to Continue Textile Talks
(Shenzhen Daily/Agencies)
Updated: 2005-10-10 14:39

U.S. and Chinese trade negotiators would continue talks on an agreement to limit China's textile imports to the U.S. in Beijing on Oct. 12-13, the U.S. trade representative's office said.

David Spooner, the U.S. trade representative's special textiles negotiator, will lead the U.S. delegation including representatives from the departments of Commerce, State, Treasury, Labor, and Customs and Border Patrol. The upcoming meeting is the fourth negotiating session, and follows a meeting two weeks ago in Washington where officials said they had made progress toward a deal.

China's exports of apparel and textiles have allegedly surged this year since the dismantling of a global system of international textile quotas Jan. 1. Under the agreement to allow China to join the World Trade Organization, the United States negotiated the right to impose tariffs on Chinese textiles through 2008 if the domestic market is disrupted by a surge of imports.

The United States has imposed safeguard tariffs on some types of men's shirts and trousers, women's blouses, and cotton yarn, and is considering several other categories of goods.

Under the textile safeguard process, the United States must hold official consultations with China after tariffs are imposed.

The Chinese Government said it strongly opposed a U.S. decision to study requests from a coalition of textile industry associations and workers seeking limits on 13 categories of Chinese textile exports.

The U.S. Commerce Department's Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements would consider requests to reapply caps on nine categories of imports including cotton knit shirts and to impose new limits on four categories including men's and boys' wool suits, the committee said.

"The U.S. action clearly violates World Trade Organization regulations," China's commerce ministry said on its Web site. “We strongly oppose the move. We hope the United States would consider the broader aspects of its trade relations with China and handle the textile product trade issue with caution."

China and the United States on Sept. 30 failed to agree on limiting Chinese textile exports after three days of talks in Washington because of disputes on four key issues. The committee said it was extending a decision until Nov. 30 and would continue to hold talks with China.

"China welcomes the extension," the ministry said.



 
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