Home>News Center>China
           
     

    Textile issue a 'yardstick' for free trade
    (Bloomberg)
    Updated: 2005-06-09 16:54

    China's Commerce Minister Bo Xilai said U.S. and the European Union plans to limit China's textile exports are a "yardstick" of their commitment to opening markets for developing nations.

    "Developed countries should respect developing countries' right to global trade," Bo said at a World Trade Organization forum in Shanghai Thursday, June 9.

    Chinese Minister of Commerce Bo Xilai speaks at the Forum on World Trade in Services in Shanghai, China, June 9, 2005. China will protect the rights of its industry in talks with the U.S. and the E.U. over surging textile exports, Bo said on Thursday.
    Chinese Minister of Commerce Bo Xilai speaks at the Forum on World Trade in Services in Shanghai June 9, 2005. China will protect the rights of its industry in talks with the U.S. and the E.U. over surging textile exports, Bo said on Thursday. [Reuters]
    China has said it will take the dispute to the WTO should the U.S. and EU restrict its textile exports, which reportedly surged 18 percent in the first four months of 2005 from a year ago to $31.2 billion. Developing countries including Brazil have blocked a new WTO pact on opening international commerce since 2001 because of disputes over U.S. and European farm subsidies.

    "China is becoming more realistic about what they can get by showing goodwill and compromising," Qu Hongbin, a senior economist at HSBC Plc in Hong Kong said in an interview Thursday. "If anything, they're starting to take a tougher stance."

    WTO director-general Supachai Panitchpakdi on June 2 said the U.S. and China should attempt to resolve the trade dispute in bilateral talks before taking it to his body. He said he didn't see any "spillover effect" from the textiles spat on free trade talks, which negotiators want to complete by a December meeting of WTO trade ministers in Hong Kong.

    The World Bank says $800 billion a year - an amount larger than Canada's gross domestic product - could be added to the world economy if an accord is reached.

    Under a 2001 WTO agreement, China's trading partners may demand a 7.5 percent cap on textile exports following any disruption to markets after global quotas ended on January 1. Bo said on May 30 that the U.S. and the EU failed to fulfill their WTO pledges because they waited until the quota textile expiration date to phase out the product categories in which Chinese manufacturers are most competitive. The quotas were supposed to be phased out over a decade, he said.

    The EU has given China until the end of this week to convince the 25-nation bloc that it will slow growth in its exports of T-shirts and flax yarn to avoid the imposition of quotas. The EU is also considering possible action to counter surging sales of seven other categories of Chinese clothing including trousers, pullovers and shoes.

    "We will pursue this matter in accordance with WTO rules while respecting the rights of Chinese textile manufacturers," Bo said at the Shanghai forum. The call from his country's textile producers for government support during the dispute was "fair," he said.

    China "treasures" its economic relationship with the U.S. and the EU, he said. The U.S. and the EU have benefited from trading with China during the past 20 years, said Bo. Total trade volume with the U.S. last year totaled almost $170 billion and trade with the EU was even higher, he said.

    The country plans to boost the size of its financial services and insurance industries, Bo said. "In the future, China will pay high attention to the trade in services, just as we paid high attention to the trade in commodities," he said.

    Services Market

    Three years after joining the WTO China has opened up 62 percent of its trade services market, Bo said. This compares with 80 percent for developed markets. China had a deficit of $10.8 billion from services trade last year, he said.

    "China will place more importance and develop the financial and trade services sector to bring it in line with international standards and to become one of the important destinations for outsourcing services," Bo said.

    WTO rules stipulate that the U.S. must hold formal consultations with China to decide how long the safeguard measure stays in place. Unless otherwise negotiated, the caps can remain in place for a year.

    The EU on May 27 called for formal consultations with China on imports of flax yarn and T-shirts, a step that means the bloc can impose import quotas within 15 days unless agreement is reached.

    "The Chinese government is fully aware that the textile industry relates to the direct employment of 19 million people in China, and indirect employment of even more," Bo said on the sidelines of the Shanghai forum.

    Youngor Group Co., China's biggest maker of men's shirts and suits, said it's losing orders to rivals in India and Southeast Asia because of the dispute over U.S. and European Union limits on textile exports from China.

    "The trade spat has created a negative impact on Chinese enterprises," Chairman Li Rucheng told reporters yesterday. "For the third quarter, we are seeing changes as U.S. companies start to shift orders of trousers to India."

    Youngor makes shirts for Marks & Spencer Group Plc and Next Plc in Europe and suits for U.S. companies such as Polo Ralph Lauren Corp. and Tommy Hilfiger Corp. It exports as many as 50,000 shirts to the European Union and a similar number of suits to the U.S. a month, Li said in the eastern port city of Ningbo.



     
      Today's Top News     Top China News
     

    Bush claims good enough relationship with China

     

       
     

    Bird flu outbreak confirmed in Xinjiang

     

       
     

    Flood death toll hits 96; relief fund floods in

     

       
     

    Bush: US opposed to Taiwan 'independence'

     

       
     

    Textile issue a 'yardstick' for free trade

     

       
     

    Market sees biggest single day rise in 3 years

     

       
      Bush claims good enough relationship with China
       
      World mayors exchange ideas in Beijing
       
      Little sex knowledge means more abortions
       
      National confirmed dead in Gaza attack
       
      Bush: US opposed to Taiwan 'independence'
       
      33 miners killed in three blasts
       
     
      Go to Another Section  
     
     
      Story Tools  
       
      Related Stories  
       
    China to protect its textile industry -Bo
       
    Restrictions on Chinese textile harm US
       
    Textile manufacturers weather the storm
       
    Textile issue must not bar trade
       
    Internal woes do not justify protectionism
       
    China-US talks fail to resolve disputes
       
    Wu Yi: Textile issue China's top concern
      News Talk  
      It is time to prepare for Beijing - 2008  
    Advertisement
             
    色综合久久无码五十路人妻| 日韩成人无码中文字幕| 亚洲中文久久精品无码| 亚洲AV无码一区二区一二区| 亚洲AV无码一区二区乱子伦| 国产中文字幕在线观看| 人妻无码中文字幕免费视频蜜桃| 手机永久无码国产AV毛片| 中文字幕51日韩视频| 中文人妻无码一区二区三区 | 亚洲中文字幕AV在天堂| 久久久久无码精品国产不卡 | 亚洲AV综合色区无码一区| 日韩中文久久| 国产在线精品一区二区中文| 日韩亚洲国产中文字幕欧美| 丰满白嫩人妻中出无码| 国产精品无码DVD在线观看| 国产成人精品无码片区在线观看| 中文有无人妻vs无码人妻激烈| 亚洲福利中文字幕在线网址| 日本中文字幕在线不卡高清| 狠狠精品久久久无码中文字幕| 日韩精品无码久久一区二区三| 精品无码国产自产拍在线观看蜜| 精品无码久久久久久午夜| 久久精品无码一区二区无码| 日韩欧精品无码视频无删节| 无码av免费一区二区三区| 少妇无码一区二区三区免费| 无码人妻熟妇AV又粗又大| 无码日韩精品一区二区免费暖暖| 亚洲AV无码码潮喷在线观看| 亚洲AV无码一区二区三区DV | 黄A无码片内射无码视频| 无码人妻一区二区三区在线视频| 亚洲AV无码乱码国产麻豆穿越| 欧洲人妻丰满av无码久久不卡| 国产精品99精品无码视亚| 无码精品久久一区二区三区| 一区二区三区无码高清|