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Belgium:EU to state limits in Chinese textiles imports |
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2005-3-17
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The EU trade commissioner Peter Mandelson said Tuesday that the EU will publish "danger zone" guidelines prescribing level of Chinese textile imports to reach the EU before it imposes emergency trade restrictions.
Terming them as “safeguards,” he insisted that they would be last resorted to. However, Mandelson said that the first priority was to establish what levels of imports would cause serious disruption to European textile producers and those of developing countries outside China.
"The decision on whether or not to go further and impose defensive measures would be a complex one...and not one that should be resorted to lightly nor automatically," he told European Parliamentarians. "What I want to do is identify where the alert levels ought to be," he said.
The guidelines, which will act as an early warning system, would provide enough time for the Chinese to restrain their own textile exports before seeing them blocked.
Fears arising with the end of the global textile quotas on January 1 that would see cheap Chinese textile products flood European markets and cause breakup of the domestic industry due to price competition and quality, prompted textile producers in the EU and the US to seek protection against Chinese competition.
In the US currently, the matter is subjudice as American retailers have been successful in getting a court injunction against domestic textile manufacturers. But the US textile industry has stepped up its campaign for protection, calling for the Commerce Department to act on its own and invoke emergency measures that shorten the usual procedure.
Now, it will be a close call for Chinese imports to the EU shores when they cross the threshold levels that may be soon brought out against it on learning the export levels. |
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