The New Nation - Internet Edition

Syful Islam

US textile owners have proposed Bangladesh to join in lobbying the Congress and administration to devise some mechanism to extend the cap on Chinese apparel import in the country beyond 2009, informed sources said.

The proposal came at a recent meeting of officials of Bangladesh Embassy in United States and the American Manufacturing Trade Action Coalition and the National Council of Textile Organisations in Washington.

In September 2005 US has imposed quota limit on Chinese clothing imports to the country as the US market for brassieres and synthetic fabric is being disrupted by surging Chinese imports.

By imposition of the cap the giant China was allowed to export no more than 7.5 per cent import of those products to the US market.

US is likely to lift the ban before January 2009 which became a big fear factor for both its local textile producers and also for its sourcing countries.

Least developed countries including 'apparel superstar' Bangladesh and Cambodia, whose textile sector grew on depending different factors, are also fearing a big blow once the cap is withdrawn by US from Chinese goods import.

Sources said that Bangladesh embassy officials have replied the US textile bosses saying that they will get back to them after consultation with Dhaka. In the meantime, the officials sought cooperation of the US textile owners to help passage of the NPDA 2007 bill allowing the LDC goods free of duty. U.S. lawmakers and manufacturers are of the opinion that China's currency policies and government subsidies give its exporters an unfair advantage and have led to a huge US trade deficit with China. In 2004 China exported US$15 billion of textiles and apparel to the US and was on pace to surpass that by more than 60 per cent in 2005.

Before the September 2005 restrictions US had imposed another cap in May 2005 that affect about US$2 billion a year in imports of yarn, men's and boys' shirts, man-made trousers, man-made knit shirts, cotton shirts, cotton trousers and underwear. U.S. textile producers said subsidised Chinese products were running them out of business.