The Bush administration is setting new limits on textile imports from China, causing trade tensions to rise even more between China and the United States.
“The globalization of the textile trade is a right we have gained since China joined the WTO, and China will not impose curbs on its textile products,” said Chinese Commerce Minister, Bo Xilai.
This is the second time in the last five days that the U.S. government has put quotas on Chinese imports, saying that they are hurting U.S. companies. According to Asia Times,
In a late afternoon statement, the US Commerce Department said that it would place “safeguard” restrictions on four types of goods from China: men’s and boys’ cotton and man-made fiber shirts, man-made fiber knit shirts and blouses, man-made fiber trousers, and combed cotton yard. Last Friday, the administration announced that it plans to place similar limits on imports of Chinese cotton trousers, cotton shirts, and man-made fiber underwear.
American textile manufactures have complained that since global trade rules were changed on January 1, imports of Chinese goods have disrupted US markets, surging by as much as 1,500% in some cases. “We will enforce our trade agreements to ensure that US companies get a fair deal as they compete in the global marketplace,” said Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez in a statement placed on the department’s website Wednesday.
The Bush Administration’s actions earned praise from the American Manufacturing Trade Action Coalition. “Failure to act would have cost tens of thousands of U.S. jobs,” stated the group’s executive director, Auggie Tantillo.
China and the U.S. are also bickering about China revaluing its currency. The U.S. gave China a six-month deadline to do so, but China rejected it and told the U.S. to worry about its internal problems first.
Chris is a staff writer for Murdok. Visit Murdok for the latest ebusiness news.
