The Bush administration, reacting to a flood of Chinese clothing imports since January, on Monday prepared to impose import quotas on shirts, trousers and underwear.
In an abrupt policy reversal, the Commerce Department said that it would begin an investigation into the need to reimpose trade quotas that were lifted just three months ago on a wide variety of Chinese apparel.
"Free trade must be fair trade, and we will work to ensure that American manufacturers and workers compete on a level playing field," Carlos Gutierrez, the commerce secretary, said in a statement.
China yesterday criticized the plan, calling it unfair and a violation of free trade.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang said Washington was trying to blame its trading partners for the problems of US business.
"This is not reasonable," Qin said at a regular news briefing.
"This is unfair. This is protectionist," he said.
"The major reason for this issue is that the United States has over-protectionist, irrational and unreasonable arrangements," Qin said.
Washington's announcement came just three days after the administration published data showing that imports of cotton knit shirts increased 1,257 percent in the first three months of this year compared with the first quarter of last year. Imports of Chinese cotton trousers jumped 1,500 percent, while imports of underwear tripled.
Those products are among the few kinds of mass-market clothing still made in the US. They had been protected under a quota system that expired at the end of last year.
Fears China will flood the world market with textile exports have already inflamed tensions between Washington and Beijing.
In contrast to a reluctance to browbeat China over the valuation of its currency -- which is having a serious effect on the US' trade position -- the White House has been willing to use safeguards in the textile dispute to soothe a domestic industry. The administration is also trying to persuade the textile industry to support the Central America Free Trade Agreement, signed last year but not brought to a vote in Congress.
Last year, the US trade deficit with China was US$162 billion, the largest trade imbalance ever recorded by the US with a single country. That figure has helped build pressure to address the imbalance, even with textile safeguards, although the retail industry says they will be ineffective.
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