China's Agreed Textile and Apparel Quotas to End on December 31, 2008 , Etc.
According to sources at the Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements, the agreed quotas imposed on certain China-origin textile and apparel quotas pursuant to the 2006 U.S.-China textile agreement, will end on December 31, 2008.
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Any overshipments that are exported in 2008 could be subject to staged entry in 2009, according to CITA sources. However, China's agreed quotas have not filled to date in either 2006 or 2007, and therefore may not fill during the 2008 export period.
(China's agreed quotas affect textiles and apparel in categories 200/301, 222, 332/432/632T (plus baby socks), (332/432/632B (plus baby socks), 338/339pt, 340/640, 345/645/646, 347/348, 349/649, 352/652, 359S/659S, 363, 443, 447, 619, 620, 638/639pt, 647/648pt, 666pt, and 847.)
WTO 'China Textile Safeguard' Also Ends on December 31, 2008
The Government Accountability Office has stated that the China textile safeguard allows World Trade Organization members to impose limits on Chinese-origin textile and apparel imports due to market disruption; however, this safeguard terminates on December 31, 2008.
WTO 'China Product-Specific Safeguard' in Effect Until December 11, 2013
The GAO has also noted that the China product specific safeguard can be used by WTO members to deal with surges in textile and apparel imports from China; this safeguard is in place until December 11, 2013.
According to the GAO, the China product specific safeguard allows WTO members to withdraw concessions or limit imports when Chinese products cause or threaten to cause market disruption. (WTO members cannot apply both the textile and product-specific safeguard to the same product at the same time.)
Countervailing or Antidumping Duties as a Tool Against China Imports
In April 2007, the Commerce Department determined that countervailing duties can be applied to imports from China. Commerce had stated that this decision alters a 23-year policy of not applying the CV duty law to non-market economy (NME) countries, and reflects China's economic development.
The GAO has previously stated that antidumping (AD) and other import relief measures may not be accessible to certain portions of the U.S. textile industry - for example, those that make components - if what they manufacture is not "like or directly competitive to" the subject Chinese imports. In addition, new AD remedies have not been applied to any textiles or apparel recently.
(See ITT's Online Archives or 04/06/07 news, 07040625, for BP summary of Commerce decision to apply CV duty law to China. See ITT's Online Archives or 11/06/06 news, 06110630, for BP summary of 2007 China quota levels. See ITT's Online Archives or 04/21/05 news, 05042125, for BP summary of 2005 GAO report entitled: U.S.-China Trade: Safeguard Procedures Should be Improved. See ITT's Online Archives or 10/10/02 news, 02101020, for BP summary of 2002 GAO report entitled: World Trade Organization: Analysis of China's Commitments to Other Members.)