U.S., China will negotiate broad textile agreement

U.S., China will negotiate broad textile agreement    The United States and China will hold talks in San Francisco Aug. 16-17 to negotiate a broad agreement on textile trade, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) said late Thursday.
   David Spooner, a USTR special textile negotiator, will lead a delegation from the U.S. departments of Commerce, State, Labor and Treasury to negotiate a new textile pact with the Chinese government.
   '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,' Spooner said in a statement.
   'Our aim, next week, is to seek a long-term solution,' he explained. In doing so, 'the administration will utilize its rights ' to level the playing field for American workers,' Spooner said.
   'We will, of course, continue to consult with domestic industries and Congress as we move forward in this process,' he noted.
   The U.S.-China meetings in San Francisco were previously scheduled official consultations on temporary quotas, or safeguards, already imposed by the United States on seven categories of textile products from China.