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China, US strike deal on China textiles
(AFP)
Updated: 2005-11-07 17:21
The United States and China have agreed to a deal on the import of mainland
clothing and fabric, resolving a bitter trade dispute between the two nations, a
major Chinese textile association said.
A shop assistant
puts socks on mannequin feet in a store in Beijing in this undated file
photo. [AFP] | "Both the US and China have
compromised in reaching this textile pact," China National Textile and Apparel
Council spokesman Sun Huaibin said.
"China made concessions on the duration of the quotas, allowing the US to
impose controls on access by Chinese textiles and apparel to the American market
through 2008, instead of 2007," Sun said.
The US imports of China-made textiles will be limited to 10-17 percent annual
growth rates through to 2008, a concession by China, which wanted it to expire
in 2007, Sun said.
It provides for a progressive increase in imports of most major textile and
apparel products from China -- by 8 to 10 percent in 2006, 13 percent in 2007
and 17 percent in 2008.
It also represents a concession by Washington, which had proposed keeping
annual growth close to 7.5 percent, he added.
Sun said working under the new agreement would be better than being subjected
to protectionist, unilateral safeguards and would increase certainty for the
Chinese industry.
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