Update on US Trade Monitoring of Imported Chinese Textiles

Friday 10th of October 2008 06:15:56 PM

The imports of clothing, including items like polo shirts, have not been included in the USA Textile Monitoring program to date. That appears to be about to change much to the appreciation of the US labor unions and representatives and senators dependent on textile production for economic success.

As reported previously, a letter had been sent to US President Bush requesting that China be included in the USA Textile Monitoring program along with Vietnam. The purpose of the program is to prevent the dumping of textiles and apparel on the USA market. The concern is the quality of the products and the effect of dumping on prices.

Currently there are some Chinese safeguards intended to protect members of NAFTA and CAFTA, but they expire next year. So it is a good time to request that China be included in the Textile Monitoring Program effective January 1, 2009. The letter sent to President Bush was written by congress people, labor union representatives and textile and clothing manufacturers.

As a result of that letter, US Representative Charles Rangel has now requested the US International Trade Commission to begin a monitoring program in 2009 for Chinese textile and clothing imports. The purpose of the monitoring is to prevent illegal textile dumping by China once the safeguards currently in place expire.

Mr. Bruce Raynor is the President of the UNITE HERE labor union. He said, "I applaud Chairman Rangel for directing the ITC to monitor U.S. imports of apparel and textile products from China when current safeguards expire. When quotas ended in early 2005, and before safeguards were put in place, China's apparel and textile imports to the U.S. soared by over 1,000 percent for some products."

Unfair trade balance in textile and clothing imports is always a concern in the manufacturing industrial segment. Strengthening trade enforcement policies is a way to protect the quality and prices of textiles while also protecting the local economies. It doesn't matter if you are talking about uncut fabric or embroidered shirts, illegal dumping produces the same effects.

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