The US decision to re-impose quotas on three types of textile
products from China, which has disappointed all levels of local
industry, will hurt related businesses and consumers in both
countries and dampen economic and trade relations between the two
sides, analysts say.
On Tuesday in Washington, US Commerce Secretary Don Evans
announced the US Committee for the Implementation of Textile
Agreements (CITA) had decided to set quotas on Chinese imports of
knit fabric, dressing gowns and bras, which he claimed
"demonstrates the Bush administration's commitment to our trade
rules and America's workers.''
Details of the imposed quotas will be decided after negotiations
between both sides.
The quotas were first eliminated when China joined the World
Trade Organization (WTO) at the end of 2001.
Analysts have condemned the decision to re-introduce them,
saying it will increase prices in the United States, and damage
Sino-US trade relations and the liberalization of world trade.
The Chinese Ministry of Commerce has shown deep regret and firm
opposition over the move.
The ministry's spokesman, Chong Quan, said China will reserve
the right to protect its interests through the WTO.
Chong said both the Chinese Government and textile industry have
pointed out many times that the US textile industry -- in its
application for quota restrictions -- had failed to prove that a
reduction in the demand of its products at home was being caused by
Chinese imports.
Tuesday's decision did not conform to CITA's procedure on
special safeguards against Chinese textiles and apparel, and the
pledges contained in the working group's report on China's
accession to the WTO, Chong said.
"China hopes the United States will fully recognize the negative
impact the decision will have on textile trade between the two
countries, and on bilateral trade and economic relations as a
whole,'' Chong said.
"China had hoped the United States would avoid abusing the
special safeguard measures.''
Zhang Hanlin, president of the China Institute for WTO Studies,
reiterated that the decision will hamper economic and trade
links.
"It is not a matter of the goods involved, but the sentiment of
the decision,'' Zhang said.
China has pushed continually to maintain balanced trade with the
United States and vowed to expand its imports from the United
States.
A purchasing delegation was sent to the United States last week,
signing US$6 billion worth of contracts for products that included
planes and cars.
According to Zhang, the United States has ignored China's
sincere efforts and turned an economic issue into a political
matter.
Next year's presidential elections in the United States appear
to be the main motivation behind Tuesday's announcement, Zhang
said.
In the wake of the decision, the US dollar has struggled at
record lows against the euro and near three-year troughs versus the
yen as the market worries it could signal further shifts in the
United States toward additional protectionist policies.
Analysts say they believe that substantial tariff hikes on
foreign goods -- led by rising protectionism -- will probably blunt
consumer spending in the United States, chilling foreign demand for
some US assets as the world's biggest economy slows.
Another case illustrating the US' move toward protectionism is
the WTO Appellate Body's ruling last Monday that its steel
safeguards were inconsistent with WTO rules.
China's industries then urged the Chinese Government to do
something to hit back at the move.
Cooperative spirit hurt by quota decision
Cao Xinyu, vice-chairman of the China Chamber of Commerce for
the Import and Export of Textiles, said the re-imposed quotas will
put the breaks on the good spirit presently being enjoyed between
the Chinese and US textile sectors.
"I have met many delegations from some US retailers'
associations and states who have been wanting to find local
manufacturers in China, but the US move makes co-operation
difficult,'' Cao said.
Cao said the textile industry is vital to China, like farming is
to the Unites States, which he said employed more than 15 million
people directly and over 100 million indirectly.
China is also one of the few countries in the world buying an
increasing amount of textiles from the United States.
Imports of US fabrics and raw textile materials and products had
risen 148 per cent on the year from January to September to US$787
million.
A spokesman from Qingdao-based Nannan Co Ltd, a wholly South
Korean-owned manufacturer and China's largest exporter of bras to
the US in 2002, said in light of this week's decision, its new
investment plan will have to be terminated and newly recruited
employees laid off.
Under the quotas, related fabrics and accessories suppliers,
including those from US, will suffer grave losses, he added.
Bras, one of the products moving back under a quota system, are
mainly exported to the United States after being made in China with
materials supplied by the United States.
For example, one of the main suppliers of urethane elastic fiber
-- a widely-used material for making bras -- is Dupont in the
US.
Bra prices could rise under the US decision, one of its own
trade groups has warned.
J. Craig Sherman, a spokesman for the US National Retail
Federation, said: "We think this is going to raise costs for
retailers and raise prices for American consumers by limiting the
number of Chinese products that can be brought into the United
States.''
(China Daily November 20, 2003)