U.S. to Consider Curbing Imports Of China Apparel
HONG KONG -- China's dream of becoming a one-stop shop for the world's apparel industry has suffered a setback as a U.S. government body agreed to consider imposing quotas on a range of Chinese textile and clothing imports.
Last week, the U.S. Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements, an interagency group led by the U.S. Commerce Department, agreed to investigate an American industry petition on cotton pants coming from China. On Wednesday, the group agreed to consider complaints on five more categories of clothing. The complaint was made by a coalition of textile companies, apparel firms and a union representing U.S. textile and apparel workers.
The new petitions cover other items, such as wool trousers, as well as a request to maintain existing curbs on imports of China-made brassieres and dressing gowns. Retailers are angered that these petitions are based not on actual import trends but on the threat of a surge in imports from China once the decades-old international quota system ends Dec. 31.
A STITCH IN TIME
Take an interactive look at what the expiry of textile quotas means for China and the U.S.
The stiffest "safeguard" quota the U.S. could impose still would allow China to increase its exports in any given category by as much as 7.5% over this year's figure, and such protection would have to be renewed after a year.
China this year is expected to export to the U.S. nearly $2 billion of the items for which petitions requesting quotas have been filed. Such exports account for about 14% of China's clothing exports to the U.S.
Analysts say that worries about the possibility of imposed quotas already are causing a slowdown in U.S. orders to China.
In the long term, China still is expected to dominate global apparel markets after the expiration of 20-year-old global textile quotas at year end. But all World Trade Organization members have the right to impose antisurge quotas on China-made products until the end of 2008, a right that U.S. trade groups are invoking with a raft of petitions covering items as diverse as man-made fiber shirts and synthetic cotton yarns. The sheer number of proposals means some almost certainly will be implemented, says Paul McKenzie, head of consumer research at CLSA Asia-Pacific Markets.
China has opposed the U.S. move to consider quotas, calling it a violation of free-trade principles. Ministry of Commerce spokesman Chong Quan said in a statement that the threat of quotas had "severely damaged" the confidence of China's garment sector. U.S. officials defend the investigation as fully acceptable under WTO rules.
Industry executives say the number of petitions against China is creating huge uncertainty for apparel buyers.
"Buyers are confused," said Hong Kong Trade Development Council economist Daniel Poon. "Which items will be hit? They don't know, so they're holding back."
Chris Chan , head of Asian operations for Liz Claiborne Inc., said the company won't increase orders to China in the near-term for any items that may be affected. "We have to be very conservative not to expose ourselves," he said.
If approved, some of these quotas will come into effect as early as February.
Meantime, some buyers who source from China are taking a medium risk strategy by avoiding popular items such as cotton trousers -- which are more-vulnerable to quota measures -- while significantly stepping up China sourcing for other categories like skirts and jackets, CLSA's Mr. McKenzie says.
CLSA estimates that 10% to 15% of the global apparel and textile industry is sourced from China. This share is estimated to increase to between 20% and 25% next year, with a surge in orders expected in the second half after quota decisions have been made.
Not all U.S. garment and textile groups want to impose curbs on China. While U.S. textile producers try to protect domestic jobs, garment producers are often looking overseas for low-cost production. American retailers also are hoping for lower-priced clothing, which many of them expect to become available if garment production is concentrated in China and India.
Kevin Burke, president of the American Apparel and Footwear Association, says the raft of proposals to impose "safeguard" quotas are increasingly hitting areas where China-made garments have very little U.S. market share, such as cotton trousers.
"This move will only hurt China, it won't bring help to the U.S.," he says.
In a speech in Hong Kong Monday, Mr. Burke said, "It's astounding how [U.S.] suppliers of our industry spend time bashing us, and us bashing them."
Pro-quota groups note that China-made bras, pajamas and down-filled jackets flooded U.S. markets after quotas on these categories were lifted in 2001. After the removal, China's share of the U.S. market for these items, on average, shot to 63% from 9% in just two years.
美国欲用配额限制中国服装出口
美国一家政府机构同意考虑对一系列中国纺织品及成衣产品实施配额制度，这对希望成为全球服装业“梦工厂”的中国来说可能是当头一棒。
10月29日，美国商务部下属机构美国纺织品协议执行委员会(Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements)受理了美国纺织团体协会(National Council of Textile Organizations)的申诉。本周三，该委员会又同意受理美国纺织团体协会针对另外5种中国纺织品的申诉。美国纺织团体协会由一些纺织品企业、服务公司和一个代表美国纺织品及服装工人的工会组成。
申诉还涉及棉裤等其他商品，并要求对中国制造的文胸和睡衣维持现有的配额制度。美国纺织团体协会提出上述申诉的理由并不是因为中国纺织品出口真的激增了，而只不过是基于他们认为持续了长达数十年的全球纺织品配额制度行将于今年12月31日退出历史舞台后中国的出口可能会猛增这种担心。这一点让美国零售商和成衣生产商感到恼火。
美国对中国纺织品实施保护性配额后规定上述任意一种中国商品对美国的出口只能比今年的数字高出7.5%，而且配额制度还要每年审核一次。
申诉中涉及的中国纺织品今年对美国的出口额接近20亿美元。这些纺织品的出口额占中国对美国服装出口总额的比例约为14%。
分析家表示，有人担心一旦美国对中国纺织品采取配额制度后将使得美国企业向中国发出的订单增长放缓。
长远来讲，持续了20年之久的全球纺织品配额制度在年底作古之后，中国势必会成为全球服装市场上的主宰者。但世界贸易组织(WTO)所有成员国仍可以在2008年年底之前针对中国纺织品的大量涌入动用配额制度。例如，美国贸易团体就运用这一权力敦促美国政府针对中国出口的化纤衬衫、合成棉纱制品等多种产品采用配额制度。里昂证券(CLSA)亚太市场消费者零售分析师保罗?麦肯孜(Paul McKenzie)称，如果只从申诉数量这个角度来考虑，美国对一些中国纺织品采用配额已成定局。
中国对美国考虑采取配额制度的行动表示反对，称这违反了自由贸易准则。中国商务部(Ministry of Commerce)新闻发言人崇泉在声明中称，美国威胁对中国纺织品实施配额已经严重打击了中国服装业的信心。但美国官员却辩解称，受理申诉完全符合WTO的有关规定。
行业管理人士称，申诉的数量给服装采购商带来了很大的不确定因素。
香港贸易发展局(Hong Kong Trade Development Council )的经济学家丹尼尔?普恩(Daniel Poon)表示，采购商正在犹豫不决，他们不知道美国将对哪些商品实施配额，因此他们现在决定暂时先不发出订单。
Liz Claiborne Inc.的亚洲业务主管克里斯?尚(Chris Chan)表示，短期内公司不会向中国企业追加那些可能受到影响的产品的订单。他表示，“我们必须得非常谨慎，以免受到牵连。”
如果得到美国政府的批准，一些产品的配额最早可于明年2月份开始实施。
麦肯孜表示，与此同时一些从中国购买纺织品的采购商采取了适度的风险策略：放弃购买棉布裤子等更容易受到配额制度冲击的产品；同时大幅增加衬衫、夹克等其他纺织品的采购。
里昂证券估计全球服装及纺织业10%-15%的订单都发给了中国。随著全球于今年年底取消配额制度，预计明年下半年发给中国的订单会急剧增加，预计这个比例将升至20%-25%。
并不是所有的美国成衣及纺织品团体都希望限制中国的出口。虽然美国的纺织品制造商力图保护国内的就业机会，但成衣制造商往往希望从国外进行采购以降低成本。美国零售商希望销售低价服装，如果在中国、印度等低成本国家生产，服装的价格就能降下来。
美国成衣及鞋类协会(American Apparel and
Footwear Association)会长凯文?伯克(Kevin Burke)表示，要求实施配额的这些申诉对棉裤等领域的影响越来越大，但问题在于这些中国产品在美国市场上占有率很低。
他表示，实施配额确实会打击中国的出口，但即便这样对美国也没什么帮助。
伯克周一在香港发表讲话时表示，“在美国，国内供货商与本国服装企业相互攻击的现象令人触目惊心。”
支持实施配额的团体指出，2001年解除了进口配额限制之后，中国制造的文胸、睡衣、羽绒夹克大量涌入美国市场。解禁之后，这些中国产品在美国市场上的平均占有率仅仅用了2年的时间就从9%激增至63%。
