With apparel and textile quotas scheduled to expire at the end of this year on Chinese-made goods, a national trade group is urging the Obama administration to take action against the Asian giant for unfair trade practices.
The National Council of Textile Organizations said that in recent weeks China has increased its subsidies to manufacturers who export their apparel and footwear products overseas. Since July, China has increased the export tax-rebate program for apparel and textiles from 11 percent of the product’s value to 17 percent. The latest rebate increase was made on Nov. 20.
As a result, NCTO calculates that Chinese apparel and textile exporters have seen subsidies increase from $19 billion to $29 billion.
“By dramatically increasing subsidies just prior to the phase-out of quotas, China is throwing down a gauntlet that the U.S. government and the U.S. Congress must not ignore,” said NCTO President Cass Johnson in a statement.
The trade group, based in Washington, D.C., wants the Obama administration to self-initiate trade-remedy cases against China if imports from that country surge when quotas expire on Jan. 1.
