Developing countries will watch their textile and apparel export sectors vanish if the World Trade Organization fails to attack the issue of growing Chinese trade domination, according to the US-based National Council of Textile Manufacturers.
At a WTO meeting in Geneva, which centred on the idea of a textile sectoral, NCTO said China is racing toward monopoly status in apparel categories that were not covered by quotas in the US or the EU in 2005.
NCTO released a review of global trade figures which it claims show China will gain a 70% import market share in the US and EU within 15 months if its growth continues at its current pace.
NCTO president Cass Johnson said: "The China textile safeguard mechanism that has preserved millions of jobs around the world will expire at the end of 2008.
"As of today, there is no means for either the US or the EU to stop China once the safeguard mechanism expires. Unless action is taken now, during the Doha Round, developing countries will see their textile and apparel export sectors quickly dismantled once the safeguards disappear."
Johnson added: "Quotas on Chinese apparel cover 60% of apparel imports into the US and 50% of apparel imports into the EU. That? nearly 60bn dollars in export business that the developing world will quickly lose once these quotas disappear."
The developing world would lose millions of jobs as a consequence of this, according to NCTO.
China? US market share in apparel categories that were removed from quotas jumped 16% to 39% last year, with growth of 27% to 48% in the EU.
The WTO has set a deadline of 30 April for deciding whether or not a textile sectoral should be included in the WTO negotiations.
US textile and fibre industry trade associations have been pushing for a separate textile sectoral within the ongoing WTO negotiations.
Many European retailers argue actions taken to stop Chinese goods dominating the market are unnecessary and unjustified, as they will hold cheap goods back, causing stock shortages.
Alisdair Gray from the British Retail Consortium told just-style recently: "?ou just can? buy the same sort of goods in Europe", and said efforts to restrict Chinese apparel and shoe exports were mostly politics-based.
"The EU thinks this is protection for its industry; protection against job losses", he said. "But you just can? buy the same sort of goods in Europe."
