Temporary Quotas Postponed While Negotiations Continue
Importers of Chinese-made sweaters, dressing gowns, men’s and boys’ wool trousers and knit fabric can breathe a sigh of relief.
The Bush administration has pushed back by one month its decision about whether to slap temporary quotas on those items. The U.S. government is now waiting until Nov. 1 to determine whether safeguard measures, or temporary quotas, will be imposed to prevent the U.S. market from being flooded with Chinese-made clothing. Other safeguard measures originally to be decided on Nov. 1 include skirts, swimwear and pajamas.
The delay is to improve the negotiating climate between China and the United States when they enter their fourth round of talks scheduled for Oct. 12–13 in Beijing. The two sides are trying to hammer out a more uniform program to curb apparel imports into the United States.
The third round of negotiations wrapped up Sept. 28 after three days of talks in Washington, D.C. At that time, the United States was aiming for low import growth levels on a broad range of categories until the end of 2008. But the Chinese were pushing for higher levels until the end of 2007.
Right now, apparel imports are curbed by a hodgepodge of safeguard measures that are imposed on various apparel categories. China agreed to the safeguard measures as part of the conditions to join the World Trade Organization in late 2001.
Safeguard measures are determined by the Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA), an interagency group headed by the Department of Commerce. So far, temporary quotas have been imposed this year on knit tops, cotton and synthetic pants, bras, underwear and synthetic filament fabric.
The Bush administration announced on Oct. 5 that it would review 13 safeguard petitions that have been filed with CITA to reapply temporary quotas to Chinese-made textiles next year. Nine of those petitions are extensions of previously approved safeguard petitions that will expire at the end of the year. The rest are new additions.
The petitions cover 21 apparel and textile categories. They include cotton and synthetic knit shirts, woven shirts, cotton and synthetic trousers, bras, underwear, wool suits, synthetic coats, combed cotton yarn, synthetic and polyester filament fabric and cheesecloth.
There is a 30-day comment period. Then CITA has up to 60 calendar days to make a safeguard determination, setting the clock ticking on when goods are embargoed. —Deborah Belgum
