Mainland agrees to modest growth limits on 34 categories of textile exports
The United States drove a hard bargain in bilateral textile negotiations with China, forcing the mainland to yesterday accept modest three-year growth limits on clothing categories accounting for almost half its exports to the US.
'[The US] has shown flexibility,' Commerce Minister Bo Xilai was quoted as saying at a signing ceremony in London also attended by US Trade Representative Rob Portman. 'But the results we are announcing are still a far cry from China's original position.'
US industry reaction was celebratory, citing greater concessions than those obtained by the European Union in similar negotiations earlier this year.
'In comparison to the EU agreement, the US government was able to secure lower growth rates for the most sensitive products,' said Jim Chesnutt, chairman of the National Council of Textile Organisations. 'We applaud ambassador Portman and our congressional supporters [for] insisting that any deal must be a good deal for American industry and workers.'
The deal limits annual import growth across 34 categories of mainland textiles to 10 to 15 per cent next year, 12.6 to 17 per cent in 2007 and 15 to 17 per cent in 2008. Together, these account for 46 per cent of China's textile exports to the US. The EU's textile deal covered 10 product categories, although their definitions were broader.