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US talks seek to untangle dispute on
textile imports American and Chinese negotiators were scheduled Tuesday to wrap up a third round of talks seeking to strike a comprehensive agreement to limit a flood of Chinese clothing and fabric imports that US manufacturers have blamed for the loss of thousands of American jobs. The talks in Washington were being led on the US side by David Spooner, the Bush administration's chief textiles negotiator, while the Chinese delegation was led by Department of Foreign Trade director general Lu Jian Hua.
American Manufacturing Trade Action Coalition chief spokesman Lloyd Wood said the US industry leaders were continuing to press the administration of President George W. Bush to get an accord that would last through 2008. They want it to cover all of the clothing and textile categories already protected by so-called safeguard growth limits and also any further categories threatened by market disruptions by Chinese imports. The administration has imposed a number of safeguard limits this year at the request of the US industry, which contends that more than 30,000 jobs have been lost and 31 textile plants forced to close this year alone after global quotas expired on January 1. Under the terms of the agreement that admitted China into the World Trade Organization, the United States and other nations are allowed to impose safeguard limits restricting the growth of imports to 7.5 percent per year through 2008. However, the US industry would like to see a comprehensive agreement reached that would remove the need to keep filing petitions across a large number of product categories. US manufacturers would like to see growth held close to the 7.5 percent per year level, while the Chinese reportedly have sought to boost import growth to 15 percent annually. American retailers have sided with the Chinese in seeking greater annual growth in the quota limits. They say they have hit the limit in bringing in Chinese clothing in many of the categories covered by the safeguard quotas, forcing them to look to other countries to stock shelves for the Christmas sales. But the Bush administration is under pressure from Congress to take a hard line in light of a trade deficit that last year hit US$162 billion (HK$1.26 trillion) with China, the largest imbalance ever recorded with a single nation. It is running 30 percent above last year's pace. The US administration is also continuing to press China to go further to allow yuan to rise in value against the US dollar. There is legislation pending in Congress that would impose 27.5 percent tariffs on all Chinese imports unless the yuan rises further in value against the US dollar. ASSOCIATED PRESS |
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American
and Chinese negotiators were scheduled Tuesday to wrap up a third round of talks
seeking to strike a comprehensive agreement to limit a flood of Chinese clothing
and fabric imports that US manufacturers have blamed for the loss of thousands
of American jobs.