On Monday the US Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements, an interagency group chaired by the Department of Commerce, announced that a quota will be imposed on imports of Chinese socks to limit growth of the country's market share.

It said Chinese goods had disrupted the US market and that "there is a threat of further disruption due to imports from China." The quota will be imposed following US government talks with China on the issue. If the talks fail to reach agreement, the quota will last for one year.

Chinese Ministry of Commerce spokesman Chong Quan said the Chinese government contests the committee's conclusions and says the US industry's appeal for the limit does not meet minimum conditions stipulated by World Trade Organization (WTO) rules.

"This will severely frustrate Chinese companies' and people's confidence in the international trade environment after its WTO accession and will sabotage the multilateral trade system," Chong said. "China retains the right to take further actions under the framework of the WTO."

Chong said that Sino-US fabric industries complement each other, and the Chinese government has been striving to promote communication and cooperation between them.

"The Chinese government urges the US government to handle such cases cautiously and to amend its errors so as to avoid casting a cloud over Sino-US trade and economic ties," he said.

Sino-US trade totaled US$126 billion in 2003. Chinese exports to the US market recorded US$92 billion with US$7 billion of that coming from textiles.

(Xinhua News Agency October 27, 2004)