In an interview with a leading news agency on Tuesday, Sun Zhenyu, permanent representative and ambassador to the WTO, said the abolition of the quotas, which some developed countries have been imposing for dozens of years, will bring fair competition to the sector and is an event of great significance in the world trade. .
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Trade in textile products will finally be conducted under the rules of the WTO after 40 years of managed trade, Sun said, adding that developing countries have made great efforts to end the quota restrictions. .
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The quota restrictions have curbed developing countries in the fields of textiles and garments and they are against the WTO fundamental rules of free trade, said Sun. China has noticed that some interest groups in the United States, the European Union and other developed countries are lobbying their governments to use protectionist measures to restrict textile imports from China, said the trade official. .
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“We will be highly vigilant for new forms of protectionism such as a spate of safeguards and anti-dumping and anti-subsidy measures so as to protect free trade in textiles from being undermined,” said the Chinese representative to the WTO. .
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If developed nations replace quota restrictions with new forms of protectionism, they would negatively affect “broader cooperation between WTO members, the next round of WTO trade talks and China fulfillment of its obligations,” Sun warned. .
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In reaction to concerns expressed by some developing countries, Sun said China can understand their worries, but some predictions of China textile exports are exaggerated. .
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“Although China total textile exports have increased, those to the European Union dropped in 2003 in 47 of a total of 158 categories while those to the United States fell in 49 of 167 categories,” he pointed out. .
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Citing figures from the International Textiles and Clothing Bureau (ITCB), an international organization of developing countries exporters of textiles and clothing, Sun said trade expanded at a yearly rate of 3.2 percent in textiles and 5.3 percent in clothing between 1990 and 2002. .
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The overall trade in the sector is expected to jump from the present 353 billion US dollars to 596 billion dollars over a similar time span in the future if it grows at the same rate, he said. .
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Even if the market shares of some countries dwindle, textile exports of these countries are unlikely to decrease, as the overall trade volume will greatly expand, Sun said. .
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He also noted that any trade agreement would force countries concerned to adapt and even pay a price but they will be compensated in other aspects. “China entry to the WTO means China adjustments in various fields and the country has paid a high price for it and the only compensation it has got is the Agreement on Textile and Clothing,” said Sun. .
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China was also under great pressure to restructure its textile industry, Sun said, adding that thousands of state-owned textile factories were closed down in the late 1990s due to their obsolete equipment and technology and millions of workers were laid off.
Other developing countries may learn from China experience by introducing new technologies to the sector and encouraging foreign investment, he said. .
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He also made several suggestions for resolving possible difficulties which some developing countries might face, including a change in the rule regarding the origin country or region of textile exports, lower tariffs on textile imports, more low-interest loans from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank to developing countries textile industry and more investment from developed countries in some developing countries with an edge in the textile industry. .
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“The Chinese market is wide open to international textile products and China will make efforts to import more products from developing countries as always,” said Sun. .
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He said the Chinese government always encourages Chinese textile companies to invest in other countries, especially in other developing countries, and to promote their cooperation in the fields of investment, technology and staff training. .
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“China will spare no effort to support the reasonable requests made by the least developed countries and the developing countries which rely mostly on the exports of textile products,” said the Chinese representative. .
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The Chinese government urges the United States and the developed countries in Europe to improve all the trade terms they have been imposing on textile products imported from developing countries so that they can enjoy preferential treatment. .
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China also urges the IMF, the World Bank and all the related international organizations to take effective measures to help developing countries improve the competitiveness of their products, Sun added..
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Source: Bharattextile.com.
Date:10/3/2004
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