Brussels, 11/04/2005 (Agence Europe) - Having adopted guidelines stating how far the EU can go in taking temporary safeguard measures against the massive influx of Chinese textile products (EUROPE 8922), the Commission finds itself between a rock and a hard place: on the one hand, the Chinese authorities, the Free Trade Association (FTA) and Oxfam have spoken out against these guidelines; on the other, the European textile industry and unions have criticised the “lack of political courage in Brussels against the invasion of Chinese textiles” and urge the Commission to apply the safeguard measures without delay.
Beijing is “vigorously opposed” to the measures announced by Brussels: “the alert zones set in place by the Commission are in breach of the legal rules for China's entry to the WTO”, said the spokesperson of trade minister Chong Quan on Thursday, noting that “this measure creates subjective conditions for a safeguard clause to be activated”. On Friday, Zhang Zhigang, the Chinese deputy minister for trade, told Commissioner Peter Mandelson that Beijing takes the view that the monitoring system that has been brought in was “not in line with the agreement at the WTO”, and that China was doing all in its power to limit its exports to the EU.
In the view of the Free Trade Association, the guidelines are “exaggerated and too schematic”. “By setting exact upper limits for imports, which if exceeded could lead to safeguards, the Commission has taken a dangerous first step towards returning to a new quota regime (…), which causes great insecurity for importers”, states the FTA in a press release. “The guidelines focus greatly on the methods and procedures necessary in order to restrict imports of textiles and clothing from China, without taking the just as legitimate interests of the importers into account. The unbalanced approach taken by the European Commission is unfortunately symptomatic, as the interests of European textile producers are continuously promoted to the disadvantage of the trading sector”, the FTA continues.
Oxfam, which defends the interests of developing countries, feels that the Commission's decision to “put the brakes on China's exports” is “bad for development”. “European industry has more than a decade to prepare for the end of quotas (…). China should not be penalised, because Europe maintained most of the quotas until the last minute instead of having a managed phase-out”', said Phil Bloomer, head of Oxfam's Make Trade Fair campaign. He adds that “China and India's development should not be blocked by France and Italy because Europe has been negligent. This trade is vital to millions of poor people”.
The European Apparel and Textile Organisation, Euratex, and the European Trade Union Federation- Textiles, Clothing and Leather (ETUF-TCL) came down against the lack of “political goodwill in Brussels to fight the invasion of Chinese textiles and failure to call for immediate safeguard measures”. Euratex and ETUF released hundreds of balloons in Brussels last Friday, on which pithy messages to the Trade Commissioner and President of the European Commission were printed: “Safeguards in, Peter Mandelson out!” and “Where are you, President Barroso?”. At a press conference, Euratex and ETUF deplored the loss of nearly 165,000 jobs in 2004 in the European textile industry due to massive imports of Chinese textiles, and warned that nearly a million jobs were under threat (they claim that the sector is losing nearly a thousand jobs a day). “We are furious: the situation is not normal and calls for immediate measures. The immediate launch of safeguard measures is justified”, said Filipe Libeert, president of Euratex. Emphasising the “dizzying increase” in certain imports from China in January and February (+893% for jumpers, +201% for trousers, +1940% for tights and socks), Mr Libeert spoke out against the Commission's “lack of political courage”: “the data speak for themselves. Why on earth are we waiting until June?” he said in response to Mr Mandelson, whose preference is to wait for more complete figures before making any decisions. “These guidelines are too little too late. If the Commission had published them last year, they could have been used as preventive signals to prevent the current glut”, added Valeria Fedeli, president of ETUF-TCL. Euratex reiterated its call for safeguard measures for a list of 12 categories of product (notably jumpers, sweatshirts, trousers, ladieswear, menswear and children's clothing), which it plans to extend to other products. “We are prepared for competition, but we cannot face unfair competition”, said Mr Libeert, who criticised subsidies paid to Chinese companies and the absence of social protection for workers in China. Euratex warned that it planned to bring the matter before the European Parliament if its appeal fell on deaf ears.