China Min: US Furniture Ruling Doesn't Reflect Reality
China's Minister of Commerce said the U.S.' recent antidumping ruling on certain Chinese exports of furniture doesn't reflect reality, and urged the U.S. to objectively and fairly deal with these products.
"The U.S. finding that Chinese furniture makers dumped their products in the U.S. doesn't reflect reality and goes against the spirit of fair trade as advocated by the U.S.," Bo Xilai said Wednesday during a meeting with visiting U.S. Secretary of Commerce Donald Evans .
Bo also said U.S. restrictions on textile and high technology imports from China are hurting trade relations between the two sides, according to a statement posted on the Ministry of Commerce's Web site Thursday.
The U.S. Department of Commerce last week tentatively ruled some Chinese wooden furniture was being dumped in the U.S. and applied tariffs of 4.9% to 198.08% on these imports.
Chinese and U.S. officials are also holding discussions on a decision by the U.S. late last year to impose quotas on a series of Chinese textile imports.
Such action by the U.S. harms trade ties between the two nations, Bo said. Unfair restrictions on Chinese textile imports will directly hit China's labor market and cause an "extremely negative impact" on bilateral trade, leading to a "lose-lose" situation, Bo said.
The minister applauded U.S. President George W. Bush's recent rejection of a petition by the U.S. labor organization AFL-CIO alleging poor Chinese labor standards and urging penalty through trade sanctions.
Evans and U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao are in Beijing to meet with Chinese officials and hold discussions on a number of topics, including granting market-economy status to China.
China has urged U.S. officials to grant the mainland that status, which is significant in trade dumping disputes.
The U.S., on its part, has called for China to first improve its labor standards and move to a floating currency system before considering the request.
China's currency, the yuan, is only fully convertible on the current account and even then is kept in a narrow range of around 8.277 against the dollar.
U.S. critics claim the yuan is undervalued, leading to unfairly cheap imports from China and a widening trade deficit with China that reached a record $124 billion last year.
China joined the World Trade Organization in late 2001, which has exposed the country to more frequent international trade disputes.
In 2003 alone, 59 antidumping cases and disputes were brought against China. Their total value was US$2.2 billion, the highest annual figure yet, the Ministry of Commerce said in a separate report.
薄熙来：美认定中国家具倾销不符合实际
中国商务部长薄熙来周三称，美国用“第三国替代”的方法认定中国家具存在倾销是不符合实际的，这与美国所倡导的公平贸易的精神是相悖的。
中国商务部周四公告称，薄熙来周三在会见来访的美国商务部长埃文斯(Donald Evans)时表示，中国家具行业也已完全市场化，是充分竞争的行业，大部分中国家具企业是民营企业或外资企业。
美国应正视现实，客观、公正地对待中国家具产品对美出口。
而针对美国对中国纺织品采取的限制措施，薄熙来说，中国的纺织业是吸纳就业人数最多并且是完全按市场化运作的行业。
中美纺织品贸易是两国贸易的重要组成部分，如美国对中国纺织品采取不公正的限制措施，将会直接影响中国的就业，这对两国贸易将产生极大的负面影响，中国也将难以平衡进出口贸易，势必影响对美产品的进口，这将是“双输”，而不是“双赢”的局面。
薄熙来的讲话是美国裁决中国进口家具存在倾销后中国官方的首次公开表态。
美国商务部(Department of Commerce)于6月18日初步裁定，部分中国木制卧室类家具在美国市场存在倾销，初裁认定的反倾销适用税率从4.9%到198.08%不等。
中国去年对美国的木制家具出口额达到12亿美元。
此外，薄熙来还重申了对中国市场经济地位问题的关注，希望美国改变“过时的”衡量标准。他表示，对彼此经济体制的承认是中美双边经贸关系得以健康发展的重要基础。
在出口管制方面，薄熙来希望美国按照中美达成的谅解，采取切实有效措施，放宽对中国的出口管制，取消对中国高新技术出口的不合理限制。
中国商务部的公告称，美国商务部长埃文斯对中国的关切表示理解。
埃文斯表示，只要中美双方本著真诚合作的精神，就会共同解决面临的难题，使双边贸易实现“双赢”。
