The US government approved four safeguard cases against China today covering man-made fiber (MMF) shirts, non-knit (woven) shirts, MMF trousers, and combed cotton yarn.
"We are gratified that the US government approved these cases. Failure to act would have cost tens of thousands of US jobs," said American Manufacturing Trade Action Coalition (AMTAC) Executive Director Auggie Tantillo.
"It is important to note that the cases approved today were filed as threat-based cases in October 2004. Today's approvals validates the US textile industry's prediction that China would surge into the market in a disruptive way," commented Tantillo.
Through April 2005 according to the US Office of Textiles and Apparel (OTEXA), the volume of US imports from China had surged:
287 % in MMF trousers
364 % in MMF shirts
293 % in non-knit shirts
78 % in combed cotton yarn
"Unfair trade practices like export tax rebates, non-performing loans, currency manipulation and other subsidies fuels China's export surge. Failure by the US government to discourage these practices would make a mockery of America's free markets," continued Tantillo.
"The US textile industry has six other safeguard cases pending. We urge the US government to approve them under the fastest timetable allowed by the safeguard procedures," stressed Tantillo.
Tantillo concluded by saying, "The US textile industry has been reviewing the data of US imports from China in other categories. Several of them are ripe for safeguard filings and the US textile industry will act soon."
In terms of volume through April 2005, the safeguard petitions approved today:
cover 1.1 percent of total US textile and apparel imports from the world;
cover 4.1 percent of total US textile and apparel imports from China, and;
cover 12.8 percent of US imports from the world in the categories affected.
In terms of value through the first quarter of 2005, the safeguards approved today:
cover 0.095 percent of the $380.85 billion in total US imports;
cover 0.7 percent of the $51.03 billion in total imports from China;
cover 1.7 percent of the $21.05 billion in total US textile and apparel imports;
cover 13.9 percent of the $2.6 billion in total imports in the individual categories affected;
cover 7.6 percent of the $4.77 billion in total US textile and apparel imports from China, and;
cover $362 million in textile and apparel imports from China.
With approval of the safeguards, the growth of Chinese exports to the United States will be limited to 7.5 percent when the US government sends China an official diplomatic cable requesting consultation on this matter.
The United States and China then have 90 days to consult and try to reach an agreement on limiting the growth of Chinese exports to the United States in these categories. If no agreement is reached, the United States can maintain the 7.5 percent growth limit through the end of calendar year 2005.
The US right to impose safeguards on textile and clothing imports from China is contained in Paragraph 242 of the Report of the Working Party on the Accession of China to the WTO.
In 1995, the WTO began implementing a ten-year phaseout of worldwide quotas on textile and apparel products. When China joined the WTO in 2002, it was allowed to join the quota phaseout in lockstep, giving it a three-year transition period compared to ten years for the rest of the world. China agreed to be subject to textile and clothing safeguards through the end of 2008 in return for receiving the reduced transition period.
Since January 2001, US textile and apparel manufacturing employment has fallen from 1,047,200 to 666,500 - a loss of 380,700 jobs (36.4 percent of total employment in the industry).
In 2005, the US textile and apparel manufacturing sector is on pace to lose another 50,000 jobs.
American Manufacturing Trade Action Coalition
