CITA initiates safeguard proceedings for Chinese apparel imports

CITA initiates safeguard proceedings for Chinese apparel imports The U.S. Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements said Monday it has decided to initiate safeguard proceedings to determine when imports of textile and apparel products 'of certain Chinese origin' are contributing to 'the disruption of the U.S. market,' CITA said in a statement.
   'This decision is the first step in a process to determine whether the U.S. market for these products is being disrupted, and whether China is playing a role in that disruption,' said Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez. The United States is permitted, under the provisions of China's World Trade Organization (WTO) accession agreement, to apply safeguards on textile products from China in instances where those criteria are met, Gutierrez explained.
   The products subject to review by CITA will be cotton knit shirts and blouses (category 338/339), cotton trousers (category 347/348) and cotton and man-made fiber underwear (category 352/652).
   CITA said it will shortly publish notices in the Federal Register seeking public comments regarding each product, and specifying the date by which such comments must be received. The comment period will last 30 calendar days, after which CITA has up to 60 days to render a final determination.
   CITA is an interagency group comprising representatives from the departments of State, Commerce, Treasury, Labor and the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative. The panel is chaired by the Commerce Department's deputy assistant secretary for textiles and apparel.
   'We are very pleased that the U.S. government has chosen to self-initiate safeguard investigations in these three crucial categories,' said Auggie Tantillo, executive director of the American Manufacturing Trade Action Coalition (AMTAC).
   Tantillo also urged that 'the government render its decision on these safeguard cases shortly after the 30-day public comment period expires. The U.S. textile industry cannot afford to wait 60 days for a decision,' he said. 'There are many other textile and apparel categories where China's surge is severely damaging the U.S. market. The U.S. textile industry will not wait long to file cases in additional categories where the facts merit filings.'
   U.S. importers of apparel reacted angrily to CITA's action, calling it 'unjustified.'
   'The data CITA is supposedly relying upon shows only that February was a peak month for imports. The imports are down in March, by comparison. There is no pattern, no consistent and substantial increase, to justify the drastic action of self-initiation,' said Laura E. Jones, executive director of the United States Association of Importers of Textiles and Apparel (USA-ITA).
   'We oppose the Bush administration's decision to self-initiate investigations under the China textile safeguard. There is no evidence that a first-quarter surge in China imports has caused market disruption in the U.S. To self-initiate cases under such circumstances undermines the real purpose of the China safeguard mechanism,' said Kevin M. Burke, president and chief executive officer of the American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA).