The Bush administration is asking China to negotiate a long-term agreement limiting the amount of clothing Chinese companies can ship to the United States, the US Trade Representative's office said on Thursday.
"In our numerous consultations with our domestic textile and apparel industries and members of Congress, we heard unambiguous calls for a more comprehensive approach to textile trade with China," David Spooner, the United State's chief textile trade negotiator, said in a statement.
"As a result, we will commence negotiations on a broad agreement with the Chinese," Spooner said. Chinese shipment of shirts, pants, underwear and other clothing items to the United States surged dramatically after a decades-old global quota system expired on January 1.
The United States imposed emergency import restrictions on many Chinese-manufactured clothing products in May using a special textile "safeground" provision that China accepted when it joined the World Trade Organisation in 2001.
The National Council of Textile Organisations has urged the Bush administration to negotiate a comprehensive textile agreement limiting imports from China through the end of 2008, when the special textile safeguard provision expires.
That would eliminate the need for US textile producers to file more petitions asking for curbs. At the same time, it would give retailers and importers more certainty about the level of available supplies from China.
US and Chinese textile officials were already scheduled to meet next week in San Francisco as part of the normal "consultations" required under WTO rules whenever a member country imposes safeguard curbs.
Spooner said the US purpose in next week's talks would be "to seek a long-term solution" to textile problems with China.
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