US to probe spurt in Chinese textile imports

The United States took the first step towards reimposing quotas on some clothing imports from China yesterday as the commerce department  announced it would launch its own probe into whether China's  burgeoning sales were disrupting the US market.

According to a report on the website of Financial Times, the action makes it almost certain that the US will impose new quotas on cotton trousers and shirts - just three months after the global quota system for textiles and apparel was abolished.

Chinese sales of those goods in the US were worth about $625 million last year, but had totalled $160 million in the first month of this year alone, the report added.

According to preliminary US data for the first three months of the year, volume of cotton shirt sales rose 1,250% from the same period last year, and cotton trouser shipments were up  nearly 1,500%.

US importers of Chinese clothing called the move "an unjustified act" saying such preliminary data was unreliable, and might indicate only that China was gaining US market share at the expense of other exporters.

Laura Jones, executive director of the US Association of Importers of Textiles and Apparel, was quoted in the report saying: "There is no reason to believe that imports from China are causing market disruption."