Textile industry aims to expand TMP to avoid import dumping
Source: American Manufacturing Trade Action Coalition Date: 2008-10-06
U.S. textile industry trade associations will hold a telephone press conference call on 30th September at 11:00 AM to announce that they have sent a letter to U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez and U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab urging the U.S. government to expand the Textile Monitoring Program (TMP) that monitors U.S. apparel imports from Vietnam for illegal dumping to U.S. textile and apparel imports from China.
In addition, they also will thank more than 70 U.S. Representatives for sending their own joint letter to President Bush urging his Administration to do likewise.
Next year (2009) will be the first year when China can export to the U.S. market where no textile-specific safeguard sanctioned by the World Trade Organization (WTO) will be available to U.S. producers.
In 2005, the last year when China temporarily had quota-free access to the U.S. market for textiles and apparel, U.S. imports from China in sensitive categories such as knit shirts and trousers exploded by more than 600 percent while prices dropped by approximately 50 percent.
This surge was the U.S. textile industry's rationale for filing of safeguard cases that led to the negotiation of the current U.S.-China textile bilateral agreement that will expire at the end of 2008.
The U.S. government's Vietnam TMP was implemented following the expiration of the U.S.-Vietnam textile bilateral that expired upon Vietnam's accession to the WTO. The United States and Vietnam previously had negotiated a textile bilateral in 2003 in response to surging U.S. imports from Vietnam.
Scheduled Conference Call Participants
• American Manufacturing Trade Action Coalition (AMTAC) – Auggie Tantillo, Executive Director
• National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) -- Cass Johnson, President
• National Textile Association (NTA) -- Karl Spilhaus, President
• U.S. Industrial Fabrics Institute (USIFI) – Ruth Stephens, Executive Director
In addition, they also will thank more than 70 U.S. Representatives for sending their own joint letter to President Bush urging his Administration to do likewise.
Next year (2009) will be the first year when China can export to the U.S. market where no textile-specific safeguard sanctioned by the World Trade Organization (WTO) will be available to U.S. producers.
In 2005, the last year when China temporarily had quota-free access to the U.S. market for textiles and apparel, U.S. imports from China in sensitive categories such as knit shirts and trousers exploded by more than 600 percent while prices dropped by approximately 50 percent.
This surge was the U.S. textile industry's rationale for filing of safeguard cases that led to the negotiation of the current U.S.-China textile bilateral agreement that will expire at the end of 2008.
The U.S. government's Vietnam TMP was implemented following the expiration of the U.S.-Vietnam textile bilateral that expired upon Vietnam's accession to the WTO. The United States and Vietnam previously had negotiated a textile bilateral in 2003 in response to surging U.S. imports from Vietnam.
Scheduled Conference Call Participants
• American Manufacturing Trade Action Coalition (AMTAC) – Auggie Tantillo, Executive Director
• National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) -- Cass Johnson, President
• National Textile Association (NTA) -- Karl Spilhaus, President
• U.S. Industrial Fabrics Institute (USIFI) – Ruth Stephens, Executive Director
