U.S. and Chinese negotiators began a new effort on Monday to seek an agreement that could restrict billions of dollars of clothing imports from China, but industry officials were pessimistic the two sides would find common ground.
"I don't get the sense that anything has really changed since the last round of talks" in Beijing in late August, said Missy Branson, senior vice president at the National Council of Textile Organizations. "To my knowledge, there's not been any back and forth" discussion since then.
The two sides were meeting on Monday and Tuesday for the fifth time since May, when the United States began to restrict imports of clothing and textiles from China.
Imports of shirts, underwear, trousers, bras and other clothing from China have shot up sharply following the end of a decades-old global quota system on January 1.
Washington has restricted the imports under a special "safeguard" provision of Beijing's entry into the World Trade Organization, which allows countries to hold clothing and textile imports from China at 7.5 percent above the previous year in response to a "market-disrupting" surge.
U.S. textile groups have pushed the Bush administration to try to negotiate an agreement that would restrict 30 or more categories of clothing and textile imports from China through 2008, when the safeguard provision expires.
But China wants any pact to end in 2007 and the United States to promise not to use the safeguard provision again.
U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman said earlier this month that the second condition was unacceptable.
"We're not going to give away our ability under the WTO accession with China to deal with new ... safeguards when there's a surge," he said.
But China wants any pact to end in 2007 and the United States to promise not to use the safeguard provision again.
U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman said earlier this month that the second condition was unacceptable.
"We're not going to give away our ability under the WTO accession with China to deal with new ... safeguards when there's a surge," he said.
Last week, textile industry groups filed new petitions asking for restrictions on wool suits, synthetic coats and additional textiles from China. They have also asked for existing curbs on bras, underwear, pants, shirts and other clothing to be renewed when they expire at the end of this year.
U.S. clothing importers and retailers accuse the textile industry of trying to extend the import protection they enjoyed for decades under the global quota system. They want any agreement to allow for progressively higher imports.
"Otherwise, we haven't weaned the industry off this protection," said Brenda Jacobs, an attorney who works with the U.S. Association of Importers of Textiles and Apparel.
Importers also want flexibility built into the pact so they can draw on the next year's quota if the current year's quota is filled, or shift product from one quota category to another.
