Fill out this form to email this article to a friend
Trousers and shirts in U.S.-China cross-fire
Associated Press
Published May 19, 2005
WASHINGTON - Trade tensions between the United States and China escalated Wednesday when the Bush administration said it will set new limits on the amount of clothing that can be imported from China.
It was the second time in five days that Washington announced such quotas, acting on complaints that a surge of Chinese apparel was hurting U.S. companies.
The new batch of Chinese goods facing restrictions are men's and boy's cotton and man-made fiber shirts; man-made fiber trousers; man-made fiber knit shirts and blouses; and combed cotton yarn.
A textile industry representative said the categories of trousers as well as shirts and blouses would affect men's and women's products.
American retailers are concerned the quotas will raise prices of these goods for U.S. consumers.
The government committee, led by the Commerce Department, that made the decision found that those categories of imports threatened to disrupt the U.S. market. Shipments of Chinese textiles and apparel to the United States have surged since the end of global quotas Jan. 1.
Just Friday, the administration said it was reimposing quotas on three categories of clothing imports from China: cotton trousers, cotton knit shirts and underwear.
Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez said Wednesday's decision "demonstrates the administration's continued commitment to America's textile manufacturers and their employees."
The United States, he said, "will enforce our trade agreements to ensure that U.S. companies get a fair deal as they compete in the global marketplace."
The step will mean that shipments of the categories of clothing cited Wednesday will be permitted to increase this year by just 7.5 percent compared with shipments over a 12-month base period.
China has responded by accusing its critics of failing to follow through on their own market-opening pledges.
Europe and the United States dragged their feet on carrying out promises to open markets before a worldwide quota system ended Jan. 1, Commerce Minister Bo Xilai said Wednesday in comments carried by the official Xinhua News Agency. That led to a surge of inexpensive Chinese textile exports flooding Western markets this year, he said.
The United States has the power to set the limits on Chinese goods under an agreement that cleared the way for Beijing's membership in the World Trade Organization in 2001.
[Last modified May 19, 2005, 00:43:18]
Share your thoughts on this story
|
News
Fifty years ago, they were screwed-up kids sent to the Florida School for Boys to be straightened out. But now they are screwed-up men, scarred by the whippings they endured. Read the story and see a video and portrait gallery.
Print
Email story
Comment
Email editor
