NCTO commends government for launching investigation into some textile subsidies in China

The National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) of the United States greatly appreciates the recent actions taken by the Office of the United States Trade Representative. The Office of the United States Trade Representative will investigate whether some of China’s textile subsidies exceed the scope of the WTO.
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Last week, U.S. Ambassador Schwab sent a letter to Minister Chen of the Ministry of Commerce of China, thus launching this challenging action. If China does not cancel illegal subsidies, the result of the action may lead to a WTO friction.
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NCTO would like to thank Senator Elizabeth Dole and Congressman Robin Hayes for putting pressure on the government to accept this case as soon as possible. NCTO President Cass Johnson said: “The efforts of Senator Elizabeth Dole and Congressman Robin Hayes brought this case to the forefront, and the textile industry sincerely appreciates and appreciates their efforts. They are true friends of the textile industry, and they have time and again Speak for the textile industry once and for all to ensure it gets a fair deal in Washington.”
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The U.S. government will investigate some of China’s textile subsidies. The cause was NCTO’s request on September 11, 2007, which detailed 73 types of subsidies provided by China to the domestic textile industry and asked USTR to investigate whether these subsidies complied with WTO rules.
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NCTO’s own analysis shows that more than 20 types of subsidies appear to be related to exports, and export subsidies actually violate WTO rules.
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NCTO President Cass Johnson said, “We don’t know which subsidies the USTR will investigate. Many of the subsidies we propose are huge, totaling hundreds of millions of dollars.” Removing these subsidies may have a material impact on China’s ability to export to overseas markets at artificially low prices. The action taken by the US government now is of great significance for establishing surveillance arrangements for China’s textile imports once the special safeguard measures are lifted on January 1, 2009.
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​ ​ Establishing surveillance is necessary because it will become a tool for the US government to take necessary measures if Chinese products flood into the United States in 2009. The last time special safeguard measures were temporarily lifted, China’s textile and clothing exports to the United States surged by 600%, resulting in tens of thousands of American workers losing their jobs.