U.S. textile makers file 9th petition against Chinese imports

U.S. textile makers file 9th petition against Chinese imports    A coalition of associations representing U.S. textile, apparel and fiber producers filed Friday the ninth in a series of China safeguard petitions with the Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA), seeking continued restrictions on textile imports from China.
   The petition was filed on Category 447, wool trousers, by the American Manufacturing Trade Action Coalition (AMTAC), the National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO), the National Textile Association (NTA), the National Association for the Sewn Products Industry (SEAMS), and the labor union UNITEHERE!.
   CITA has 15 business days to accept or reject the petition for consideration. If accepted, CITA would likely make a decision in February.
   The coalition has filed nine of 10 petitions announced in October, alleging that each is necessary to counter threats to the domestic textile market from Chinese sources following the falling off of most apparel and textile quotas at midnight on Dec. 31.
   The U.S. imported $310.9 million worth of wool trousers in 2003, with $14 million worth of those imports coming from China. In 2002, the latest year in which annual data is available from domestic textile makers, the U.S. produced an estimated $143.4 million worth of wool trousers.