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China Bristles at Textile Trade Backlash
By Peter S. Goodman WUHAN, China -- Over the past decade, Li Suiming has steadily improved the garment factory in which he once operated a manual loom. He brought in Japanese sewing machines. He scrapped the old product -- ill-fitting long underwear -- for fresh designs. He turned what had been a loss-making state-owned factory into his own profitable enterprise, Dolucky Knitwear. This year came an enormous opportunity: An old system that for three decades limited China's textile exports to the United States and Europe finally expired. Li geared up to put his clothes on store shelves from Fairfax to Frankfurt. In March, he shipped his first direct order to the United States, 18,000 polo shirts for New York-based Omega Apparel. It was part of a deluge of Chinese-made textiles reaching the American market. Imports of cotton shirts and pants alone increased tenfold over the first three months of the year, according to U.S. government data. That surge has provoked a fierce backlash, intensifying calls for protective tariffs on Capitol Hill, where some lawmakers now describe China as a rogue trade regime. Industry groups argue that China is still governed by a Communist Party that subsidizes industry, manipulates its currency and tolerates the exploitation of its workers. They warn that the Chinese juggernaut is poised to wipe out some 650,000 textile and apparel jobs in the United States. In Europe, industry pressure groups make similar claims.
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