The US and China have failed to reach agreement on a deal to limit a flood of Chinese clothing and textile imports coming into the US. Negotiators said the talks would resume this month.
The US side said progress in narrowing the differences had been made in this week's talks which lasted from Monday through Wednesday night, a day longer than had been scheduled. But David Spooner, the administration's chief textile negotiator, said the US was still prepared to end the discussions without an agreement.
"The United States will have no hesitation in walking away from a bad deal," Spooner said in a statement on Thursday.
He said both sides planned to meet again this month, but that an exact time and location had not yet been set. The first round of the discussions took place in August in San Francisco followed by a round of talks in Beijing and then this week's discussions.
"Our preference is to seek a longer-term solution that will permit the orderly development of textile and apparel trade," Spooner said.
He said in the discussions this week the two sides had made progress "particularly with regard to product coverage and quota levels."
US manufacturers said China needed to make better offers in terms of how many products will be covered and the length of the agreement. The industry wants the limits to remain in effect through 2008.
"For the first time, China began to negotiate constructively, but it still has a significant way to go before we can reach a deal that the industry can support," said Cass Johnson, president of the National Council of Textile Organizations.
The talks are aimed at limiting Chinese clothing and textile imports which have been flooding into the country after global quotas were lifted last January.
The industry has won rulings from the administration to impose limits, known as safeguards, in various categories of clothing but would prefer a comprehensive deal covering all categories of clothing where production has been disrupted by the surge in Chinese products.
US retailers have reluctantly gone along with the idea of a comprehensive deal but they want to see growth in imports significantly higher than the 7.5 percent cap imposed under the safeguard process. They complain that many product categories where safeguards have been imposed have already hit their limits for this year, forcing the retailers to look elsewhere for supplies with time growing short before the holiday sales season begins.
US manufacturers contend that thousands of jobs have been lost and 31 textile plants have been forced to close just this year because of the sharp increase in Chinese shipments.
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
REGIONAL STABILITY: Taipei thanked the Biden administration for authorizing its 16th sale of military goods and services to uphold Taiwan’s defense and safety The US Department of State has approved the sale of US$228 million of military goods and services to Taiwan, the US Department of Defense said on Monday. The state department “made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale” to the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in the US for “return, repair and reshipment of spare parts and related equipment,” the defense department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a news release. Taiwan had requested the purchase of items and services which include the “return, repair and reshipment of classified and unclassified spare parts for aircraft and related equipment; US Government
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