A senior textile industry official said that China is seeking
talks with the EU and US to ease their concerns over the surge in
textile exports since the abolition of quotas on January 1,
according to Xinhua News Agency.
Wang Shenyang, chairman of the China Chamber of Commerce for the
Import and Export of Textiles (CCCT),
said that a delegation would soon be sent to Washington and
Brussels to ward off possible restrictions.
He said he expected the US and EU to improve communications and
find solutions, rather than make swift decisions that would block
free trade.
Wang urged importing countries to be patient, saying that China
is working responsibly to moderate its textile exports.
An EU delegation set out for Beijing yesterday to discuss their
concerns with the Chinese side.
European Commission spokesperson Claude Veron-Reville said at a
press conference on Friday that, for the time being, they do not
have credible data from member states on Chinese textile imports
since the start of the year.
The Chinese government implemented an export tax and new
regulations on issuing export licenses in an effort to ensure
controlled growth, and the industry has said that it will study a
mechanism to guarantee that exports will not be sold at unfair
prices.
Despite this, the value of Chinese textile exports to the US
surged 65 percent year-on-year in January to US$1.4 billion, and
shipments to the EU jumped 46 percent to US$1.5 billion.
The rise triggered calls from textile-importing nations for new
limits to be imposed to protect their domestic industries
US and EU manufacturers had already called for curbs, and the
recently released figures have only served to intensify their
worries.
The American Manufacturing Trade Action Committee, which
represents US textile companies, called on March 11 for measures to
limit imports of trousers, shirts and other items.
On the same day, EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson also said
industry leaders had expressed concerns over the rise in Chinese
clothing exports.
He said the EU would take "appropriate action at the appropriate
time" to stem any surge in shipments.
According to WTO rules, safeguard measures can be applied on
imports only when there is evidence that they cause market
disruption.
But Wang said it would be too hasty for the EU and US to decide
to implement safeguard measures.
"It is inappropriate to make the decision based on statistics
from a single month," Wang said. "Exports are likely to abate after
the initial surge."
China saw explosive growth in some textile categories whose
quotas were removed in 2002, but the growth rate slowed in 2003 and
stabilized in 2004, he said.
Meanwhile, the surge could be explained by other factors,
including the extent to which the quota system had previously
distorted trade flows, he said.
That exports of underpants to the US witnessed an eight-fold
year-on-year increase in January is cited to justify US
manufacturers' worries.
But, according to Chinese exporters, they suffered from unfair
treatment in the quota era. Despite being a major exporter, China
was given a quota of 5.5 million dozen by the US, compared to 7.82
million for Bangladesh and 10.18 million for Vietnam.?
US retailers and other importers pointed out that imports from
many other countries, such as Jordan and El Salvador, also soared
in January.
(China Daily March 15, 2005)