Associated Press

Brussels, May 18:

The European Union has increased the pressure on China to curb the surge in its textile exports, calling for immediate official consultations with Beijing on T-shirts and flax yarn that could forebode protective EU measures.

EU trade chief Peter Mandelson said EU production and employment have already slumped ‘dramatically’ in those sectors since the beginning of the year, when Chinese exports quotas were lifted under the rules of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

“Import flows have been extraordinary in the first quarter of this year.”

Growth in T-shirt imports stood at 187 per cent over the first four months of the year compared to the year-earlier period, and at 56 per cent for the flax yarn sector.

Mandelson’s call for official consultations with China would set in motion a WTO trade system to contain Chinese exports, but still needs approval from the EU member states. Mandelson assured China, though, that the EU had no plans to reimpose quotas on some textile products like Washington announced last Friday.

“There is no question of reintroducing quotas, absolutely not,” he told reporters, highlighting that possible safeguard measures approved over the coming months would last only until the end of the year. He said the glut in Chinese imports needed to be contained to give European producers “a limited but no less important breathing space.” France, which had pressed the EU to speed up an investigation it opened last month, welcomed Mandelson’s move.

“Commissioner Mandelson has taken the measures that were needed,” French finance minister Thierry Breton said, “This is very important because these are measures that can take effect very quickly.” He said efforts would continue to find a negotiated solution with the Chinese, but added that the talking could not continue indefinitely.

“The thinking now is that within a couple of weeks we either find a solution or else we’ll take steps to limit Chinese imports into Europe,” he said. Breton dismissed suggestions that the commission’s decision and its timing were designed to help the government-backed campaign for a ‘yes’ vote in France’s on May 29 referendum on the EU Constitution.

Mandelson, meanwhile, said EU action could not be compared with Washington’s because of historic and quantitative differences in imports.

“I am neither emboldened or constrained by what the Americans do,” he said.

China criticises US, Europe

BEIJING: Commerce Minister Bo Xilai on Wednesday criticised the US and the EU for blaming China for the fast growth of Chinese textiles in their markets and for taking measures to curb the influx.

“This is unfair,” Bo said, speaking to an audience of international business people at the Fortune Global Forum in Beijing.

Inexpensive Chinese textile exports flooded the markets after a worldwide quota system ended on January 1. European and US textile makers say their survival is threatened by the surge. But Bo said Europe and the US dragged their feet on lifting their quotas in stages so their markets became flooded when the global quotas expired. That’s the reason why China’s exports have grown so dramatically this year, he said. “Once an agreement is reached everybody has to abide by their commitment otherwise there is no point in negotiating rules,” Bo said.

The Bush administration announced that it would impose quotas on the amounts of Chinese-made cotton trousers, cotton knit shirts and underwear that China can export to the US. And the EU has increased the pressure on China to control surge. — AFP