On September 29, The United States Senate announced that since the Bush administration promised to ensure the U.S. textile industry, Senator Dole and Graham would no longer oppose the entry of Vietnamese "permanent normal trade relations (PNTR)" status. Obtaining a "permanent normal trade relations status will pave the way for Vietnamese accession to the WTO.
U.S. Trade Representative Schwab and Commerce Secretary Reaz say that if the data of Vietnamese textiles shows its dumping, the United States Department of Commerce will self-initiate anti-dumping cases against Vietnamese textiles. This is the first time the U.S. government agrees to initiate anti-dumping investigations on foreign textile products on behalf of the U.S. textile industry.
Lawyer Li Xinyu and Brian Murphy, who specialized in United States customs laws, say to our web that it is U.S. government's unprecedented action, and it is possibly furthersome for Chinese textile products to pave the way for similar investigations. Lawyer Bruce Shulman points out that not as Vietnam, China has become a WTO member, the condition will be favorable.
Bush administration's stance on Vietnamese textile imports causes a storm to the U.S. garment industry, some American clothing retailers and importers have expressed their anger and the shock to the United States Department of Commerce. Enterprises that plans to expand investments in Vietnam, such as Nike, are the first to be affected. Many clothing importers indicates that because of the threat of anti-dumping duties, they are not sure whether they will buy apparel from Vietnam or not. A spokesman from U.S. Trade Representative Office says that the Bush Administration will work out an effective, fair and transparent (Vietnamese textile imports) monitoring system ". But U.S. clothing retailers and importers are very unhappy about it, they call on the Bush administration to make further clarifications.
Whether United States will carry out the anti-dumping investigation on Vietnamese textile or not, there will be direct or indirect impacts on China related merchandise exports, and on those enterprises which plans to invest in Vietnam. We China Apparel Network will track and report on this issue.
