Bush serves up a new round of protectionism

[CShine 0]

The Bush Administration moved today to block large volumes of Chinese textile exports to the United States, provoking fears of protectionism in international markets but cheers from American producers in the southern United States.

Invoking special "safeguard" clauses in its trade agreements with China, the Commerce Department said it would begin discussions to impose new quotas that could sharply cut back China's burgeoning exports of knit fabrics and other products.

Industry executives said that the three categories of textiles cover many millions of dollars in imports, but that they are probably more important as test cases in a broader assault against Chinese clothing and textiles of all sorts.

Administration officials made it clear they wanted to send Chinese leaders a signal that they want broader cooperation on a wide range of complaints over Chinese trade practices. But the move also seemed an effort to soothe a growing push from both parties in Congress for tough new tariffs against all Chinese products.

The decision today came as President Bush continued to wrestle with an equally explosive decision over whether to keep protecting American steel producers with their own set of "safeguard" tariffs. The World Trade Organization has ruled that the American tariffs violate international trade laws, and the European Union is threatening to impose $2.2 billion in retaliatory tariffs as early as next month.

http://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/18/internat...D-TRADE.html?hp

[aucorner 0]

so you think this is a bad thing..................textile manufacturing in this country will cease to exist if something is not done. I last worked in textiles in 1998 in a NEW niche market for textiles and we were seeing product coming from Asia and China delivered to the door for less than our raw material costs. These foreign governments are subsidizing these businesses to take US business down plain and simple.

Let me guess CShine..............you are not exactly an insider, policy maker, or outstanding employee when it comes to business.

[TitanTiger 20,519]

I'm not generally for this kind of thing. But, I think it's about time we light a fire under China regarding the trade deficit and their less than stringent patent and copyright enforcement.

[aucorner 0]

I'm not generally for this kind of thing. But, I think it's about time we light a fire under China regarding the trade deficit and their less than stringent patent and copyright enforcement.

and I am generally against this kind of thing as well

[Jenny AU-92 0]

Bizarre that CShine posted this - I see this as a positive step!! Bush doing something non-partisan that is a GOOD thing in the opinion of most all concerned! China is a negative trading partner - we give and they take, no reciprocity. And what they don't take, they steal. This is an issue of concern to ALL Americans, regardless of political party.