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US, China reach agreement on textile, clothing
(Reuters/AP)
Updated: 2005-11-08 16:34
LONDON - The United States and China have signed a deal to resolve a
trade dispute over imports of Chinese clothing and textile products into the
United States, the two sides said Tuesday.
US Trade Representative Rob Portman and Chinese Commerce
Minister Bo Xilai announced the deal at a joint news conference in London and
hailed it as a success for both sides.
Chinese Minister of
Commerce Bo Xilai and US Trade Representative Rob Portman sign an
agreement on textiles in London Tuesday November 8, 2005 to resolve a
trade dispute over imports of Chinese clothing and textile products into
the United States. [AFP] |
"I believe the
textile agreement shows our ability to resolve tough trade disputes in a manner
that benefits both countries," Portman said.
The accord is aimed at
smoothing over a rough spot in the US-China trade relationship before President
George Bush visits Beijing in the middle of this month.
The deal follows one China reached with the 25-nation
European Union earlier this year and comes just over a week before US President
George W. Bush is due to visit China.
Portman said the agreement was fair to both countries, and called it an
example of what "hard work" and "good faith" could accomplish.
Bo described the outcome as a "win-win result", though he later said the
agreement was "a far cry" from Beijing's original expectations.
The accord was reached after seven rounds of negotiations, at some of which
Bo said the two sides had been "almost at the edge of a cliff".
The deal covers more than 30 individual products and contains quotas that a
US statement said would begin at low levels.
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