NCTO applauds Bush administration decision to self-initiate safeguards against China

The Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA) has announced that the US government will self-initiate safeguard actions against China in six major product categories including knit shirts (categories 338, 339), trousers (categories 347, 348) and underwear (categories 352/652).

In response to the government’s announcement, the NCTO chairman, Mr Allen Gant said, “This action by the Bush sdministration represents a very significant step-forward for the US textile industry. We are extremely grateful that the government has recognised the dangers that China’s unfair trade practices pose to our workers. To our knowledge, this is the first time this administration has self-initiated a safeguard action against China for any product. Our government’s willingness to take this aggressive step against China sends a clear message that the United States will not stand by and allow China to steal US textile and apparel jobs.”

The industry anticipates that a final decision on these petitions could be reached in as little as five weeks and will be filing extensive comments in support of the government petitions. Assuming these petitions are approved, a request for consultations with the Chinese to limit the growth of imports to the United States in these categories could be made shortly thereafter. If a mutual agreement to limit imports cannot be reached, the US, under China’s WTO accession agreement, may unilaterally limit imports from China to 7.5 per cent above their shipments during the first 12 months of the most recent 14 months preceding the request for consultations.

Mr Jim Chesnutt, NCTO vice-chairman, responded by saying, “NCTO would like to thank President Bush and the members of CITA for this action. We also want to thank our congressional supporters who have been diligent in pressing this issue with the Administration. The categories that the government acted upon today are the bread and butter of this industry and recent import data clearly demonstrates that China is specifically targeting them. If the US industry is going to survive against a country that employs numerous illegal and unfair trade practices to gain market share, our government must aggressively utilise the legal remedies it has available to address these abuses. We look forward to the timely imposition of new quotas following the 30 day review period.”

According to early monitoring data released by the Department of Commerce Office of Textiles and Apparel, imports of trousers from China are up by 1,521 per cent in the first quarter of 2005 compared to 2004. Knit shirts are up by nearly 1,258 per cent and underwear by 308 per cent during this same period.

The industry is also reviewing the just released data to determine which other textile and apparel categories China’s imports are disrupting. Mr Cass Johnson, president of NCTO, stated: “We will quickly file cases where the facts warrant such action. And we will be urging the government to quickly review these petitions and come to a speedy determination. As we have seen from the import data, with each passing day, China is building a higher and higher market share. We look forward to an expedited response by the government on any new industry petitions.”