China's textile companies, which make 17 percent of the clothes worn in the world by value, said they aren't worried that the US and EU will resort to new forms of protectionism after export quotas expired on Jan. 1.
Alphatex Beijing Knitting Co, which supplies cashmere sweaters to Harrods Department Store Co, expects sales to grow at least 30 percent this year, Managing Director Christian Murphy said in an interview in Beijing. Li & Fung Ltd, Hong Kong's largest trading company, doesn't anticipate new barriers will spoil its growth, said Nancy Chen, investor relations manager.
PHOTO: AP
Forty years of US and European quotas on 2,400 items, including cotton shirts and denim, ended two days ago under a WTO agreement. Lawyers including Patrick Norton say anti-dumping lawsuits and alternative trade curbs won't slow growth in China's textiles and garment exports, which rose 26 percent to US$86 billion in the first 11 months of last year.
"The end result is inevitable: China is going to take a much larger share of the market," said Norton, managing partner of the Beijing office of US law firm O'Melveny & Myers LLP.
Nine in 10 textile makers in China are expanding production, according to a survey by Global Sources Ltd released on Nov. 29.
Alphatex spent US$500,000 on new machines and doubled its workforce the past six months.
"The lifting of the quotas means it will be open season for us," said Murphy, as he surveyed piles of knitted cashmere shawls destined for Europe at the firm's warehouse.
US and European textile makers, worried about the loss of jobs, have lobbied their governments to impose protectionist measures. The US Department of Commerce has said it would grant "safeguard" protection to local producers as long as they could prove that imports threaten their businesses.
"The US industry believes this is a life-or-death battle," said Beijing-based US trade lawyer Matthew McConkey of Coudert Brothers.
A New York judge on Dec. 30 blocked the US from imposing new curbs on textile imports. Judge Richard Goldberg of the US Court of International Trade granted an injunction sought by the US Association of Importers of Textiles and Apparel, which represents Liz Claiborne and other retailers who benefit from a free market in textiles. His ruling will stand, pending further court action.
Anti-dumping action against Chinese textiles may increase.
The EU said it will cut the amount of paperwork required for companies to make complaints about products they claims are being sold below market value, the Wall Street Journal reported on Dec. 23, citing officials and industry groups.
Trying to ease any backlash, China said on Dec. 27 that it would impose a 0.2 yuan (less than US$0.01) tax on every piece of textiles exported and possibly cap exports on some high-volume, labor-intensive textiles.
Both US and EU officials said China's steps don't go far enough, the Journal reported on Dec. 28.
"The measures that may be imposed in the US or Europe will only temporarily slow down orders moving to China. We're not worried," said Li & Fung's Chen.
Li & Fung generated US$2.5 billion in sales in the first half of last year from sales of textiles, electronics and other consumer- related exports to the US and Europe. Its customers include Walt Disney Co, Warner Brothers Entertainment and Kohl's Department Stores Inc.
"Either way," she said, "our role is to navigate these regulations and help our customers get the best products with the best prices in China."
NO HUMAN ERROR: After the incident, the Coast Guard Administration said it would obtain uncrewed aerial vehicles and vessels to boost its detection capacity Authorities would improve border control to prevent unlawful entry into Taiwan’s waters and safeguard national security, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday after a Chinese man reached the nation’s coast on an inflatable boat, saying he “defected to freedom.” The man was found on a rubber boat when he was about to set foot on Taiwan at the estuary of Houkeng River (後坑溪) near Taiping Borough (太平) in New Taipei City’s Linkou District (林口), authorities said. The Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) northern branch said it received a report at 6:30am yesterday morning from the New Taipei City Fire Department about a
IN BEIJING’S FAVOR: A China Coast Guard spokesperson said that the Chinese maritime police would continue to carry out law enforcement activities in waters it claims The Philippines withdrew its coast guard vessel from a South China Sea shoal that has recently been at the center of tensions with Beijing. BRP Teresa Magbanua “was compelled to return to port” from Sabina Shoal (Xianbin Shoal, 仙濱暗沙) due to bad weather, depleted supplies and the need to evacuate personnel requiring medical care, the Philippine Coast Guard (PCG) spokesman Jay Tarriela said yesterday in a post on X. The Philippine vessel “will be in tiptop shape to resume her mission” after it has been resupplied and repaired, Philippine Executive Secretary Lucas Bersamin, who heads the nation’s maritime council, said
CHINA POLICY: At the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China, the two sides issued strong support for Taiwan and condemned China’s actions in the South China Sea The US and EU issued a joint statement on Wednesday supporting Taiwan’s international participation, notably omitting the “one China” policy in a departure from previous similar statements, following high-level talks on China and the Indo-Pacific region. The statement also urged China to show restraint in the Taiwan Strait. US Deputy Secretary of State Kurt Campbell and European External Action Service Secretary-General Stefano Sannino cochaired the seventh US-EU Dialogue on China and the sixth US-EU Indo-Pacific Consultations from Monday to Tuesday. Since the Indo-Pacific consultations were launched in 2021, references to the “one China” policy have appeared in every statement apart from the
More than 500 people on Saturday marched in New York in support of Taiwan’s entry to the UN, significantly more people than previous years. The march, coinciding with the ongoing 79th session of the UN General Assembly, comes close on the heels of growing international discourse regarding the meaning of UN Resolution 2758. Resolution 2758, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1971, recognizes the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the “only lawful representative of China.” It resulted in the Republic of China (ROC) losing its seat at the UN to the PRC. Taiwan has since been excluded from