NCC Continues Push for Fair Trade Policy

NCC Vice Chairman Woody Anderson says the U.S. cotton industry’s survival hinges on having both farm policy and trade policy that provide fair and equitable provisions for competing in the international arena.

October 29, 2003
Contact: Marjory Walker
(901) 274-9030

WASHINGTON, DC – National Cotton Council Vice Chairman Woody Anderson says the U.S. cotton industry’s survival hinges on having both farm policy and trade policy that provide fair and equitable provisions for competing in the international arena. The U.S. cotton industry also is committed to continue its efforts to promote increased consumption of cotton textile and apparel products, which will benefit growers and manufacturers.

Representing the NCC at a news briefing here as part of a textile/fiber coalition aimed at curbing an onslaught of textile and apparel imports from China, the Colorado City, TX, cotton producer said, “I want to join with others in expressing our sincere appreciation to members of Congress for their broad, bipartisan support for our initiative to make our international trading partners play by the rules and, thereby, help in our efforts to preserve American jobs. This is not about protectionism, this is about insisting that the Administration utilize and enforce the provisions of international trade agreements.”

The coalition said 139 Representatives (250kb pdf) and 26 Senators (246kb pdf) signed letters - and a number of Senators and Representatives sent separate letters - urging the Administration to invoke the special textile China safeguard provision included in China’s World Trade Organization (WTO) accession agreement and to not include provisions in future free trade agreements that would allow non-participating countries to benefit from agreements designed to promote trade and investment between signatory countries. The letters specifically call on the Administration not to include so-called Tariff Preference Levels (TPLs) that allow non-participating countries to circumvent rules of origin and benefit from future free trade agreements at the expense of U.S. and regional manufacturers.

Anderson pointed out that, historically, about 60 percent of U.S. cotton production has been sold to domestic textile mills. He said that while that percentage has slipped to about 40 percent, “the domestic textile industry remains the most stable and reliable market for U.S. cotton and maintenance of a viable domestic textile industry is, therefore, critically important to the future health of the U.S. cotton industry.”

He said the NCC has joined with other fiber and textile organizations to encourage implementation of the China safeguards because cotton products on which quotas have been removed are among the fastest growing import categories. Of the 29 categories for which quotas were removed at the end of 2001, eight were cotton-containing products. During the first 12 months following the lifting of quotas, China’s exports of those eight product categories into the U.S. increased an average of 640 percent, while the average price was slashed 71 percent.

“We are convinced that this kind of growth constitutes market disruption and is unmistakable grounds for implementing safeguards provided in the U.S.-China Accession Agreement,” Anderson noted. “While textile imports from China have flooded the U.S. market with cotton textiles, China has been unwilling to implement regulations that provide consistent, predictable and transparent market access for U.S. agricultural products, including cotton. We continue to work through USDA and USTR, to insist that China fully comply with its WTO obligations. We are not asking for new measures – only that that U.S. officials utilize the provisions available under the WTO.”