(Canadian Press)
China says its
tariffs imposed to restrain exports won't apply to goods already affected by foreign controls, an apparent attempt to prod Washington to lift textile import quotas.
China announced a sharp increase
in export tariffs last week in an effort to avert a trade war with the United States and Europe, where imports of low-priced Chinese textiles have soared since a global quota system ended on Jan. 1.
"Enterprises that already are subject to textile limitations abroad will not be subject to the export tariffs," state television said on its noon national newscast, citing the Commerce Ministry.
The announcement appeared to be an effort to persuade Washington to let China use its own measures to rein in the export surge.
The United States imposed import quotas in mid-May on
Chinese-made cotton trousers, underwear, man-made fibre shirts and other goods. They limit annual growth of Chinese textile imports to 7.5 per cent - well below the 54 per cent jump reported so far this year
by the U.S. Commerce Department.
Beijing criticized that action as unfair and said the United States and Europe were partly to blame for the surge because they failed to keep promises to open their
markets earlier.
The report Friday didn't say which products would be exempt from the tax, due to take effect on June 1. The government earlier said it would increase export duties on 74 types of
goods by up to 400 per cent.
The government of U.S. President George W. Bush has said little about the Chinese measures -only that it hoped to discuss them with Chinese trade officials.
Textiles are one of several disputes that have strained relations between China and its trading partners. The United States, EU and other governments also are pressing Beijing to raise the state-set value of
its currency and to stamp out rampant product piracy.
China imposed a 1.3 per cent export tax on textiles in December on the eve of the end of global quotas, but American officials said that was too
low to make a difference.
The EU hasn't imposed controls but began investigating last month after reporting that imports of some Chinese textiles have risen by up to 534 per cent this year.
The outcome could mean that the bloc will re-impose some quotas. |
