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Copyright 2005 The Financial Times Limited
Financial Times (London, England)
August 30, 2005 Tuesday
London Edition 3
SECTION: WORLD NEWS; Pg. 5
LENGTH: 601 words
HEADLINE: Importers tell Washington to heed EU debacle in talks with Beijing
BYLINE: By EDWARD ALDEN
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
BODY:
Citing the European Union debacle over Chinese textile imports, US clothing importers are urging the administration of President George W. Bush to negotiate an agreement with Beijing that would allow for generous annual increases in US imports.
In a letter sent late last week to Rob Portman, US trade representative, the association representing importers and retailers warned the current disruption of the European industry "highlights the high costs to the economy when negotiators do not consider the commercial implications of restrictions on trade".
The US and China meet today and tomorrow in Beijing for a second round of talks, with both sides hoping to craft a deal before the visit to Washington next week of Hu Jintao, the Chinese president.
Industry officials said the two sides still appeared far apart after a first round of negotiations in San Francisco in mid-August. While neither government has disclosed detailed proposals, industry officials said the US was seeking to restrain imports in more than 35 categories to levels at or near the 7.5 per cent annual growth allowed under US "safeguard" mechanisms.
China, in contrast, wants only a handful of categories controlled, and is seeking annual growth rates of 20 to 30 per cent. The EU deal with China, which runs until the start of 2008, set quotas on 10 categories of imports, with growth rates ranging from 8 to 12.5 per cent.
The US has already re-imposed quotas on seven large categories of Chinese clothing imports - including cotton trousers, shirts and underwear - using special safeguard procedures agreed by Beijing when China entered the World Trade Organisation in 2001.
Washington is threatening to slap safeguards on another half-dozen categories if no deal is reached by tomorrow, though such actions might be delayed until after President Hu's visit.
In spite of reimposing quotas, the US has managed to avoid the supply disruptions that have plagued Europe. Unlike the EU-China agreement, which was imposed with little warning to European importers, US clothing buyers were well prepared for the safeguard actions.
Most clothing importers had expected quotas to be reimposed by the middle of this year and had diversified sourcing in preparation. Nonetheless, quotas have already been filled this year for all the categories under safeguard, and some companies had to use expensive air shipments to get their goods into the US in time.
Brenda Jacobs, Washington trade counsel for the US Association of Importers of Textiles and Apparel, said the European stand-off showed the danger of imposing new restraints without careful consultation with the industry. "If you don't know what's out there, you can't negotiate a number that's manageable," she said.
US importers say any deal cannot just be another temporary measure that will overly restrict trade and generate a new backlash from US textile makers after the end of 2008, when the US can no longer impose safeguards against China.
Ric Long, president of Helly Hansen, the US outdoor clothing retailer, told Mr Portman last week any deal must "serve as an effective transition programme to normal trade in textile and apparel products, and not as another 'cliff' that will create yet another crisis down the road in 2008".
Importers say such a deal should include a sizeable increase in quotas each year, and should only cover categories where China is directly competing with US manufacturers.
US textile makers, however, want a much broader deal that would set restrictive quotas on most large categories of imports until the end of 2008. Lesson from textiles stitch-up, Page 15
LOAD-DATE: August 29, 2005
Financial Times (London, England)
August 30, 2005 Tuesday
London Edition 3
SECTION: WORLD NEWS; Pg. 5
LENGTH: 601 words
HEADLINE: Importers tell Washington to heed EU debacle in talks with Beijing
BYLINE: By EDWARD ALDEN
DATELINE: WASHINGTON
BODY:
Citing the European Union debacle over Chinese textile imports, US clothing importers are urging the administration of President George W. Bush to negotiate an agreement with Beijing that would allow for generous annual increases in US imports.
In a letter sent late last week to Rob Portman, US trade representative, the association representing importers and retailers warned the current disruption of the European industry "highlights the high costs to the economy when negotiators do not consider the commercial implications of restrictions on trade".
The US and China meet today and tomorrow in Beijing for a second round of talks, with both sides hoping to craft a deal before the visit to Washington next week of Hu Jintao, the Chinese president.
Industry officials said the two sides still appeared far apart after a first round of negotiations in San Francisco in mid-August. While neither government has disclosed detailed proposals, industry officials said the US was seeking to restrain imports in more than 35 categories to levels at or near the 7.5 per cent annual growth allowed under US "safeguard" mechanisms.
China, in contrast, wants only a handful of categories controlled, and is seeking annual growth rates of 20 to 30 per cent. The EU deal with China, which runs until the start of 2008, set quotas on 10 categories of imports, with growth rates ranging from 8 to 12.5 per cent.
The US has already re-imposed quotas on seven large categories of Chinese clothing imports - including cotton trousers, shirts and underwear - using special safeguard procedures agreed by Beijing when China entered the World Trade Organisation in 2001.
Washington is threatening to slap safeguards on another half-dozen categories if no deal is reached by tomorrow, though such actions might be delayed until after President Hu's visit.
In spite of reimposing quotas, the US has managed to avoid the supply disruptions that have plagued Europe. Unlike the EU-China agreement, which was imposed with little warning to European importers, US clothing buyers were well prepared for the safeguard actions.
Most clothing importers had expected quotas to be reimposed by the middle of this year and had diversified sourcing in preparation. Nonetheless, quotas have already been filled this year for all the categories under safeguard, and some companies had to use expensive air shipments to get their goods into the US in time.
Brenda Jacobs, Washington trade counsel for the US Association of Importers of Textiles and Apparel, said the European stand-off showed the danger of imposing new restraints without careful consultation with the industry. "If you don't know what's out there, you can't negotiate a number that's manageable," she said.
US importers say any deal cannot just be another temporary measure that will overly restrict trade and generate a new backlash from US textile makers after the end of 2008, when the US can no longer impose safeguards against China.
Ric Long, president of Helly Hansen, the US outdoor clothing retailer, told Mr Portman last week any deal must "serve as an effective transition programme to normal trade in textile and apparel products, and not as another 'cliff' that will create yet another crisis down the road in 2008".
Importers say such a deal should include a sizeable increase in quotas each year, and should only cover categories where China is directly competing with US manufacturers.
US textile makers, however, want a much broader deal that would set restrictive quotas on most large categories of imports until the end of 2008. Lesson from textiles stitch-up, Page 15
LOAD-DATE: August 29, 2005
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