COMMITTEE FOR THE IMPLEMENTATION OF TEXTILE AGREEMENTS (CITA)

ANNOUNCES THAT IT WILL INVOKE SAFEGUARDS

ON TEXTILE IMPORTS FROM CHINA

The Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA) today announced affirmative decisions in four threat-based textile safeguard cases that it was enjoined from considering until April 27, 2005.

CITA determined that imports of men’s and boys’ cotton and man-made fiber shirts, not knit (category 340/640), man-made fiber trousers (category 647/648), man-made fiber knit shirts and blouses (category 638/639), and combed cotton yarn (category 301) from China are threatening to disrupt the U.S. markets for those products.   As a result of these determinations, CITA will be requesting consultations with the Government of China on these products and, on the date those consultations are requested, will put in place quotas that will limit the growth in imports of the covered products .

“Today’s announcement demonstrates this Administration’s continued commitment to America’s textile manufacturers and their employees,” said Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez.   “We will enforce our trade agreements to ensure that U.S. companies get a fair deal as they compete in the global marketplace.”

Today’s decisions reflect CITA’s final determinations on four of twelve requests for safeguard relief based on the threat of market disruption that were filed with CITA between October and December 2004.   Last fall, CITA decided to consider these requests and solicited public comments.   On December 30, 2004, the U.S. Court of International Trade preliminarily enjoined the CITA agencies from considering or taking any further action on these requests and any other requests "that are based on the threat of market disruption".   The Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit stayed the injunction on April 27, 2005.  

On May 5, 2005, CITA announced the resumption of consideration of the twelve requests for safeguard action based on the threat of market disruption.   The decisions announced today concerning m en’s and boys’ cotton and man-made fiber shirts, not knit; man-made fiber trousers; man-made fiber knit shirts and blouses; and combed cotton yarn relate to four of the products at issue in the threat-based proceedings pending before CITA for which the public comment period has ended.  

Three of these product categories (men’s and boys’ cotton and man-made fiber shirts, not knit; man-made fiber trousers; and man-made fiber knit shirts and blouses) also are subject to investigations of market disruption based on requests filed by industry on April 6 and accepted for consideration by CITA on April 27.   CITA will continue to accept public comments on these three cases through June 3.     CITA will decide in due course whether or not to make determinations based on market disruption.

Next Steps: CITA will request consultations with the Government of China concerning these four textile and apparel products before the end of May with a view to easing or avoiding the threat of market disruption.   As of the date consultations are requested by the United States, a quota will be put in place to limit U.S. imports from China of these four products.   The quota level will be 7.5 percent above the amount of imports of these products from China entered during the first 12 months of the most recent 14 months preceding the month in which the request for consultations was made.   The quota level will be prorated to correspond to the number of days left in the year as of the date of the request for consultations.  

Consultations must be held within 30 days of the Government of China’s receipt of the request.   The United States will make every effort to reach a mutually satisfactory agreement with the Government of China to ease or avoid the threat of disruption in the U.S. market for these four product categories within 90 days of such request.   In the event a mutually satisfactory solution cannot be reached by the conclusion of the consultations period, the quotas will remain in place through the end of 2005.

Petitioners : The petitions requesting safeguard relief based on the threat of market disruption were filed in October 2004 by the American Manufacturing Trade Action Coalition, the National Council of Textile Organizations, the National Textile Association, SEAMS, and UNITE HERE! (SEAMS and UNITE HERE! were not parties to the combed cotton yarn request).

Product Description:   Chinese origin men’s and boys’ cotton and man-made fiber shirts, not knit in Category 340/640, which consists of thirty Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) sub-headings:   6203.22.3050, 6205.20.1000, 6205.20.2015, 6205.20.2020, 6205.20.2025, 6205.20.2030, 6205.20.2035, 6205.20.2045, 6205.20.2046, 6205.20.2050, 6205.20.2060, 6205.20.2065, 6205.20.2075, 6205.90.3010, 6205.90.4010, 6211.32.0060, 6203.23.0080, 6203.29.2050, 6205.30.1000, 6205.30.2010, 6205.30.2020, 6205.30.2030, 6205.30.2040, 6205.30.2050, 6205.30.2060, 6205.2070, 6205.30.2080, 6205.90.3030, 6205.90.4030 and 6211.33.0040.

Import Statistics:

Source: Statistics for men’s and boys’ cotton and man-made fiber shirts (not knit) imports from the world and China derived from the Office of Textiles and Apparel, Major Shippers Report for HTSUS numbers listed above.

Product Description:   Chinese origin man-made fiber knit shirts and blouses imports from China in Category 638/639, which consists of thirty-nine Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) sub-headings:   6103.23.0075, 6103.29.1050, 6104.23.0036, 6104.29.1050, 6104.29.2055, 6105.20.2010, 6105.20.2030, 6105.90.8030, 6106.20.2010, 6106.20.2030, 6106.90.2530, 6106.90.3030, 6109.90.1007, 6109.90.1009, 6109.90.1013, 6109.90.1025, 6109.90.1049, 6109.90.1050, 6109.90.1060, 6109.90.1065, 6109.90.1070, 6109.90.1090, 6110.30.1050, 6110.30.1060, 6110.30.2050, 6110.30.2060, 6110.30.3040, 6110.30.3045, 6110.30.3050, 6110.30.3055, 6110.90.9076, 6110.90.9078, 6112.12.0030, 6112.12.0040, 6112.19.1030, 6112.19.1040, 6114.30.1010, 6114.30.1020 and 6117.90.9030.

Import Statistics:

Source: Statistics for man-made fiber knit shirts and blouses imports from the world and China derived from the Office of Textiles and Apparel, Major Shippers Report for HTSUS numbers listed above.

Product Description:   Chinese origin man-made fiber trousers imports from China in Category 647/648, which consists of seventy-six Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) sub-headings:   6103.23.0040, 6103.23.0045, 6103.29.1020, 6103.29.1030, 6103.43.1520, 6103.43.1540, 6103.43.1550, 6103.43.1570, 6103.49.1020, 6103.49.1060, 6103.49.8014, 6104.23.0032, 6104.23.0034, 6104.29.1030, 6104.29.1040, 6104.29.2038, 6104.63.2006, 6104.63.2011, 6104.63.2026, 6104.63.2028, 6104.63.2030, 6104.63.2060, 6104.69.2030, 6104.69.2060, 6104.69.8026, 6112.12.0050, 6112.12.0060, 6112.19.1050, 6112.19.1060, 6112.20.1060, 6112.20.1070 , 6113.00.9044, 6113.00.9052, 6117.90.9070, 6203.23.0060, 6203.23.0070, 6203.29.2030, 6203.29.2035, 6203.43.2500, 6203.43.3500, 6203.43.4010, 6203.43.4020, 6203.43.4030, 6203.43.4040, 6203.49.1500, 6203.49.2015, 6203.49.2030, 6203.49.2045, 6203.49.2060, 6203.49.8030, 6204.23.0040, 6204.23.0045, 6204.29.2020, 6204.29.2025, 6204.29.4038, 6204.63.2000, 6204.63.3000, 6204.63.3510, 6204.63.3530, 6204.63.3532, 6204.63.3540, 6204.69.2510, 6204.69.2530, 6204.69.2540, 6204.69.2560, 6204.69.6030, 6204.69.9030, 6210.40.5030, 6210.50.5035, 6211.20.1525, 6211.20.1555, 6211.20.3820, 6211.20.6820, 6211.33.0030, 6211.43.0040 and 6217.90.9060 .

Import Statistics:

Source: Statistics for man-made fiber trousers imports from the world and China derived from the Office of Textiles and Apparel, Major Shippers Report for HTSUS numbers listed above.

Product Description:   Chinese origin combed cotton yarn, in Category 301, which consists of thirty-eight Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United States (HTSUS) sub-headings:   5205.21.0020, 5205.21.0090, 5205.22.0020, 5205.22.0090, 5205.23.0020, 5205.23.0090, 5205.24.0020, 5205.24.0090, 5205.26.0020, 5205.26.0090, 5205.27.0020, 5205.27.0090, 5205.28.0020, 5205.28.0090, 5205.41.0020, 5205.41.0090, 5205.42.0020, 5205.42.0090, 5205.43.0020, 5203.43.0090, 5205.44.0020, 5205.44.0090, 5205.46.0020, 5205.46.0090, 5205.47.0020, 5205.47.0090, 5205.48.0020, 5205.48.0090, 5206.21.0000, 5206.22.0000, 5206.23.0000, 5206.24.0000, 5206.25.0000, 5206.41.0000, 5206.42.0000, 5206.43.0000, 5206.44.0000 and 5206.45.0000.

Import Statistics:

Source: Statistics for combed cotton yarn imports from the world and China derived from the Office of Textiles and Apparel, Major Shippers Report for HTSUS numbers listed above.

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