Exporters face more US textile restrictions
By Jiang Wei (China Daily)
Updated: 2005-09-28 06:12

Chinese textile exporters are likely to face safeguard measures on additional products if the current round of Sino-US textile talks fails to reach agreement.

Chinese workers work in a factory in Huaibei, East China's Anhui Province in this picture taken on September 15, 2005. [newsphoto]

The United States is due to make a decision on whether to set caps on imports of sweaters, robes, wool trousers and knit fabrics on October 1.

In addition, US industry associations last week filed new petitions to their government for curbs on cheesecloth, men's and boys' wool suits, polyester filament fabric and some man-made fibre coat imports from China.

However, the US Government earlier twice postponed decisions on safeguard measures on several categories to leave more room for bilateral consultation.

Although Minister of Commerce Bo Xilai said when China reached a new textile agreement with the European Union earlier this month that the Sino-US textile trade disagreement would soon be resolved, neither side seems optimistic about the outcome of talks which began Monday (local time) in Washington.

China would stick to its principles in the negotiation, Cao Xinyu, vice-chairman of the China Chamber of Commerce for Import and Export of Textiles, said in Beijing before the talks. The US industry described the attitude as "intransigence."

China and the United States were slated to end the talks last night.

Negotiations were jointly headed by Lu Jianhua, foreign trade director with the Ministry of Commerce, and David Spooner, Washington's chief textile negotiator.

The previous four rounds of Sino-US consultations failed to break the deadlock, leaving "some substantial differences" unsettled.

In another development, online bidding for next year's quotas set by the European Union started yesterday; the process is set to last till Friday.

Cao said enterprises were carefully analyzing prices and prospects as they bid for 18 per cent of next year's quotas.

(China Daily 09/28/2005 page1)

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