Print

Mail

wiki links

US, China fail to reach agreement on textiles limits

The US and China failed to reach agreement on limiting Chinese clothing and textile exports after a fourth round of negotiations in Beijing, US chief negotiator David Spooner said.

"We have not come to an agreement that meets the needs of our domestic manufacturers and retailers," Spooner said in an e- mailed statement yesterday.

The US will continue to use its right to impose caps on the growth of Chinese textile imports "as appropriate," he said.

China's textiles and apparel exports to the US are on course to grow by more than 60 percent this year from US$15 billion last years. The surge has prompted complaints from US textiles producers who petitioned the Bush administration to impose quotas on items ranging from synthetic fabric to knit shirts.

The US and China have held talks to try to set rules that would limit textile trade to stop the petitions, allowing Chinese clothing makers and US importers a chance to plan business decisions. The US would have "no hesitation in walking away from a bad deal," Spooner said on Sept. 29.

China's government didn't immediately respond to the ending of the talks. Telephone calls to Chong Quan (崇泉), a spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce, were transferred to a fax machine. Calls to the ministry's general office in Beijing weren't answered.

China's textile exports jumped 22 percent from a year earlier to US$55 billion in the first nine months of this year, according to the customs bureau in Beijing.

Sales surged after a four-decade-old system of global textile quotas expired at the end of last year. Under WTO rules, countries can impose "safeguard" measures that limit growth to 7.5 percent annually until 2008 in the event that a jump in shipments causes "market disruption." The EU and China agreed on Sept. 5 to unblock 400 million euros (US$502 million) of Chinese sweaters, pants and bras that were languishing at the EU's borders after quotas were exceeded. The two sides agreed earlier to curb growth in imports to between 8 percent and 12.5 percent, fixed for three years.

China's commerce ministry on Oct. 6 said it strongly opposed a US decision to consider requests from textile industry groups to impose caps on 13 categories of Chinese textile exports.

US textile producers filed petitions on Sept. 15 asking the Bush administration to extend caps on about US$3.4 billion worth of Chinese clothing. The applications to the US Commerce Department seek an extension of limits on imports of Chinese knit shirts, bras, and 14 other products through next year.
This story has been viewed 1714 times.