Thread: Textile Industry Fights Back on Trade

High Point Enterprise
Friday, April 29, 2005

Textile Industry Fights Back on Trade
Heath E. Combs

ENTERPRISE STAFF WRITER

GREENSBORO - Triad textile industry professionals gathered in Greensboro on Thursday in the hopes that the goverment will act quickly to reimpose textile industry quotas.

American Manufacturing Trade Action Coalition Director of Senate Relations Jim Schollaert told industry officials they must continue to be politically active if U.S. textile jobs and industry are to be saved from the surge in textile imports from China.

The coalition has been at the forefront of a fight to have safegaurds in place to protect the domestic textile industry and save thousands of U.S. jobs threatened by imports.

The flood of imports began since Jan. 1, when global quotas in place for decades were eliminated. Since the quotas were eliminated, Schollaert said China has already filled 80 percent of their annual 42.5 million dozen sock quota for this year.

Schollaert said good news came for the domestic textile industry this week as the Bush administration panel that reviews textile matters announced it would proceed with seven cases filed by U.S. manufacturers seeking the return of quotas to protect the domestic industry from a surge in Chinese imports.

The Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements, chaired by the Commerce Department, said in a brief statement that the cases had cleared an initial technical hurdle and the panel would now consider the industry petitions on the merits of the requests.

The clothing items covered by the industry petitions include various types of shirts, blouses, sweaters, trousers, dressing gowns, bras and synthetic fabric.

In addition to the industry petitions, the administration on April 4 announced that it was bringing its own cases to determine whether quotas should be re-imposed on other clothing types, an action the industry had sought to speed up the time it would take for quotas to be re-imposed.

The United States Association of Importers of Textiles and Apparel, the group fighting the quotas, suffered a setback this week.

On Wednesday a federal appeals court in Washington lifted a court injunction that had been preventing the government from considering industry petitions that were filed last year based on the threat of possible harm to the industry before the quotas were lifted.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

hcombs@hpe.com | 888-3533

Sent to me by
Jim Schollaert
The American Manufacturing Trade Action Coalition
jschollaert@amtacdc.org

JP - great piece!

The flood of imports began since Jan. 1, when global quotas in place for decades were eliminated. Since the quotas were eliminated, Schollaert said China has already filled 80 percent of their annual 42.5 million dozen sock quota for this year.

Started Jan 1?? Of which year???. It seems that for the last two decades everything I pick up is a piece of junk made in Taiwan, China, Mexico or the Phillipines. I am so tired of such shoddy stuff...there really are few choices..

AND I don't shop at WalMart...I support other shops, home grown and home owned. I'm really annoyed that everything is a franchise...one way or another. I miss having the family owned and operated restaurants and cafes...little burger places that made really good freshly cooked food. Oh, for the good ol' days...does anyone else miss that stamp of individuality that small towns once had??

RR

You bet I do, RR!

re: china.......has made the move in the past year to FLOOD the world re:trade agreements etc.

re: buying JUNK, lol. YOU sound like me.......I also won't give these stores my money nor will I purchase ANYTHING made in China. The caveat is that we make a point of telling the store owner/managers.

A coffee pot cost me over $100 and a trip to another state last year, for an example. WHEN WE ONLY MAKE 1 CUP AT A TIME!!!

I've been using the web to search out MADE IN USA for just about everything now. If I can't find it and won't die without it........doesn't get purchased. And nothing "french" gets into the door either.
{just my 2 cents, lol}

There was actually a limit on how many textiles could be sent to the US from china but this year, those restrictions were lifted.

And nothing "french" gets into the door either.

I no longer purchase ANY french wine--or anything else french for that matter.

Neither me. I once purchased French cosmetics...but no more. Nothing french..or even with a french sounding name...comes into this house..and no shopping at Target, either.

Those remarks they made about our countrymen who died for their freedom...burnt me on the french forever.

RR