Pascrell helped lead effort with industry to get petition approved

Yesterday, the Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA) voted to invoke safeguard relief on three textile products (knit fabric, dressing gowns and robes, and bras) imported to the U.S. from China following petitions filed by the U.S. textile industry.

U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. (D-NJ, 8th), a consistent critic of the non-reciprocal U.S. trade deals of the last decade, co-authored a bi-partisan letter to President Bush with Reps. John Spratt (D-SC, 5th), Virgil Goode (R-VA, 5th), and Howard Coble (R-NC, 6th) in October to strongly support the China Textile Safeguard Petition.  Pascrell's letter was signed by 139 Members of Congress, including seven other New Jersey members, Reps. Robert Menendez, Frank Pallone, Rob Andrews, Chris Smith, Frank LoBiondo, Steve Rothman, and Donald Payne.

The petitions were filed by United Textile Fiber Coalition under a special provision of China's World Trade Organization accession agreement that allows the U.S. (and other WTO members) to impose temporary quotas on textile imports from China in the event those imports are found to cause "market disruption."

Rep. Pascrell, from the once booming manufacturing City of Paterson, New Jersey, stated his support for CITA's decision, "The Administration has finally begun to back up its words on protecting American working families.  Invoking the China Textile Safeguard Petition will help level the playing the field for American companies that have been fighting an uphill battle for business against Chinese companies.

"However, the decimation of the manufacturing industry in this country is not just a China problem.  Our textile trade deficit with China was $10.8 billion in 2002 and the overall U.S. trade deficit in textiles was $60.6 billion.  So this is not a silver bullet, but it is a step in the right direction.  I hope the administration will continue to listen and take further action to stop the consistent bleeding away of good paying American jobs.

CITA is chaired by the US Commerce Department and includes, State, Treasury, Labor and USTR.  The approval of the petition triggers a consultation process with the Chinese to limit the growth of imports to the United States in these categories.  If no agreement on limiting imports can be reached, the United States may limit the level of shipments from China to a level no lower than 7.5 percent above the amount entered during the first 12 months of the most recent 14 months preceding the request for consultations.
 

Members of the Textile/Fiber Coalition that submitted the China Textile Safeguard Petition:

         American Manufacturing Trade Action Coalition (AMTAC)

         American Textile Manufacturers Institute (ATMI)

         National Textile Association (NTA)

         UNITE

         American Yarn Spinners Association (AYSA)

         American Fiber Manufacturers Association (AFMA)

         National Cotton Council (NCC)

         American Sheep Industry Association (ASI)

         American Textile Machinery Association (ATMA)

         The Carpet and Rug Institute (CRI)

         The Association of Georgia's Textile, Carpet & Consumer Products Manufacturers (GTMA)

         USA Domestic Manufacturers Committee of the Hosiery Association

         Industrial Fabrics Association International (IFAI)

         North Carolina Manufacturers Association (NCMA)

         Textile Distributors Association

         South Carolina Manufacturers Alliance (SCMA)

         American Flock Association

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