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EU to press for fast-track measures against Chinese textiles

Mon Apr 25, 2:54 PM ET


BRUSSELS (AFP) - European Union member states are gearing up to press Brussels for emergency measures leading to a fast-track application of limits on booming Chinese textile imports, the EU's executive commission said.


AFP/File Photo


Reuters
Slideshow: China Textile Exporting Surges




The measures, sought by 13 textile-producing EU states, would enable the EU executive commission to bypass months of investigation and consultation otherwise needed to take action.


But they also risk raising Beijing's ire and opening a painful trade dispute with the Asian giant.


"At this stage we are expecting a formal request for emergency measures," EU trade spokeswoman Claude Veron-Reville said.


In Paris French Industry Minister Patrick Devedjian said Monday that he and Foreign Trade Minister Fancois Loos were preparing "a joint letter in which we are asking (the commission) to apply the emergency measures."


Chinese textile imports into the European Union have surged by as much as 534 percent for some garments since the end of a 31-year-old global quota system on January 1, 2005 .


The European Commission, which European textile makers accuse of doing "too little and too late", was poised to launch an investigation into Chinese textile imports -- the first step toward imposing curbs -- after Brussels received data showing that they were surging well beyond levels it considers tolerable.


But at an informal meeting Sunday in Luxembourg, EU trade ministers from 13 textile-producing states argued that the commission should go further than mere investigations and apply special clauses in WTO rules that allow for emergency safeguards after formal consultations with China.


The Europeans are hoping that the Chinese can be talked into applying restrictions on their exports and thus avoid a showdown with Brussels.


The growing pressure for the European textile industry to be shielded against Chinese imports comes as many EU companies and governments try to establish warm relations with Beijing in the hope of doing business with the emerging economic giant.


But with billions of dollars of trade on the line, China stood firm on its opposition to any moves to slap limits on its textiles.


"China is firmly opposed to limitations imposed by other countries," Trade Minister Bo Xilai said Monday while in Jakarta, according to the China News Service.


"China does not bear the main responsibility for the phenomenon of steep rises in the exports of Chinese textiles in certain markets," he was quoted as saying.


France, Italy and Portugal, all big EU textile producers, have been pressuring Brussels to take quick action to halt the flood of the Chinese textiles.


"We want to move as quickly as possible under World Trade Organisation (WTO) rules to take effective protection measures by this summer at the latest," French Foreign Minister Michel Barnier said.


Despite the growing pressure within the EU for measures to hold back Chinese textile imports, some member countries have warned against protectionist moves.


Swedish State Secretary for Trade Lars-Olof Lindgren said Sunday in Luxembourg: "We in Sweden think we should concentrate on getting the European economy and industry competitive instead of trying to protect it.


"This is no way of getting Europe to be the most competitive industry in the world," he added.

However, if Europe decides to take the fast-track to limits, it runs the risk of China challenging the action at the WTO in what would be unknown legal territory.

Luxembourg's deputy foreign affairs ministers Nicolas Schmit, whose country holds the EU's rotating presidency, told journalists in Luxembourg: "The decisions must be decisions that cannot be attacked by China."

"It is important to act according the rules, but it is also important to act as quickly as possible," he said.

WTO director general Supachai Panitchpakdi counseled caution to countries struggling against the surge in Chinese textile exports, advising them to wait at least a year before taking any protectionist steps.

In an interview with the Wall Street Journal at WTO headquarters in Geneva, Supachai said that after only a few months of evidence following the lifting of textile quotas, the final impact of the trade rules remained unclear.

"We should be a little bit more judicious in looking at the figures," he said.




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Yahoo! News - EU to press for fast-track measures against Chinese textiles

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