CHINESE CLOTHING U.S. official talks of limits on imports

Chinese textile imports threaten 650,000 U.S. jobs, groups say.
WASHINGTON POST
BEIJING -- A senior United States trade official strongly suggested that the Bush administration will move in coming weeks to limit imports of Chinese clothing, opening a new front in a simmering trade conflict with the world's most populous country in the final weeks of the presidential campaign.
In an interview Sunday, U.S. Commerce Undersecretary Grant Aldonas said he expected American manufacturing groups to file petitions "as early as next week" seeking limits on an anticipated surge of certain types of clothing from China. He said the administration was prepared to impose restrictions ahead of a rush of Chinese goods expected early next year, following the lifting of quotas that have ruled the global textile trade for three decades.
"Don't be surprised when our industry brings these cases on threat that if they have the evidence, we're going to go to bat for them," Aldonas said. "We are definitely going to enforce the trade laws."
Though the restrictions could not be imposed for at least three months under the rules governing such petitions, the Bush administration would have to decide within three weeks of a filing whether to accept it and investigate the case. In other words, in the weeks before the election, the administration will almost surely face a key decision on the increasingly charged question of trade relations with China.
Accusation of unfair practices
In recent months, American manufacturing groups have accused China of employing unfair practices such as manipulating the value of its currency and subsidizing its industry in racking up a $124 billion trade surplus with the United States. They have leaned on the Bush administration to limit Chinese imports and pressure Beijing to allow its currency to float freely.
China asserts these claims are unfair, maintaining it is being made the scapegoat for the loss of American manufacturing jobs. Bush's Democratic challenger, Sen. John Kerry, has accused the White House of failing to champion the interests of American workers in the face of the Chinese juggernaut.
The Bush administration has already slapped limits on imports of some Chinese goods to contain surging volumes, capping shipments of bras, dressing gowns and knit fabrics. Last month, the Commerce Department accepted a petition from textile producers seeking limits on socks from China. The next round of petitions will likely seek limits on knit shirts and twill trousers, Aldonas said.
At the center of the conflict is the lifting of the quota system that has limited the volumes of clothing that China can ship to the United States. The quotas have forced American buyers to import textiles and clothing from dozens of countries around the world. Once that system expires at the end of this year, buyers will be free to import as much as they like from wherever they choose.
What it will likely mean
Apparel industry executives say that will almost surely mean a dramatic reordering of global production, with huge volumes shifting to China, where labor is cheap, plentiful and productive. Raw materials are abundant. Trade groups in the United States assert about 650,000 American textile jobs hang in the balance -- most of them in southern states that constitute key election battlegrounds such as North Carolina.
Under the 2001 agreement that brought China into the World Trade Organization, the United States retains the right to impose safeguards on imported Chinese clothing to soften the impact of the end of the quota era. These safeguards can limit the annual growth in volume to 7.5 percent for three years, ending in 2008. The language of the agreement gives Washington the right to invoke such limits in event of a surge of shipments that constitutes a disruption to the market or even the threat of such an increase.
Speculation has mounted as to whether the Bush administration is likely to impose the safeguards. Aldonas set aside any ambiguity. "Threat of market disruption," he said in the interview. "That's legitimate."