European importers on Wednesday expressed cautious welcome to
the new textile agreement between the European Union (EU) and
China, which replaces import quotas with joint monitoring of trade
flow in 2008.
"We welcome the fact that quotas have ended, but the double
checking system will put administrative burden on our members, and
on importers and retailers," Stuart Newman, a spokesman for the
Foreign Trade Association (FTA) representing EU importers, told
Xinhua.
The European Commission announced on Tuesday it had reached an
agreement with China to end quota restrictions on Chinese textile
imports with a joint surveillance system to monitor the trade flow
next year.
The so-called "double checking system", which will operate for
one year in 2008, is going to track the issuing of licenses for
export in China and the importation of goods into the EU.
Following a so-called "textile war", the EU and China reached an
agreement in June 2005 on resuming quotas on China's textile
exports to the EU, which expires at the end of 2007.
Newman said the introduction of the monitoring system was at
least a better choice than the retention of quotas as pressed for
by EU textile producers and some member states.
Michael Jennings, a commission spokesman for trade, described
the new system as basically data collection and double check.
"We will be sharing information with the Chinese side. It's a
good opportunity for us to monitor together," he said in a
telephone interview with Xinhua.
Meanwhile, Jennings warned the double checking system will not
exclude the possibility of using special trade protection measures
again if a surge of imports is monitored, which may replay the
scene in the 2005 textile trade friction.
Newman said they will advise their members not to buy all the
products from China, but look elsewhere to avoid a surge in
imports.
"I don't think the monitoring system itself will affect the
trade flow, but I think importers will be more cautious about
importing from China than it was in 2005," he said.
(Xinhua News Agency October 12, 2007)
