Concerns about dumping are not unwarranted, as the expiration of quotas in 2005 resulted in a 40 percent price drop on and a nearly 600 percent volume increase of U.S. textile and apparel imports from China, severely disrupting market. This led the U.S. government to impose safeguards on numerous categories of U.S. textile and apparel imports from China, which in turn, encouraged the United States and China to negotiate the bilateral that expires at year end.
“Textile manufacturers in the United States are the most competitive in the world, but they cannot compete indefinitely against producers from countries like China that both engage in predatory trade practices and benefit from illegal subsidies.
By extending and expanding the monitoring program, the United States would be sending a clear message that it won't allow illegally priced goods to be dumped into the market,” said Ruth Stephens, Executive Director of the U.S. Industrial Fabrics Institute (USIFI).
Under the textile monitoring program, the Department of Commerce analyzes import data from sensitive textile and apparel categories for signs of possible dumping. If the Department believes that dumping may be occurring, then the Department will open an investigation which could lead to the Department filing a dumping case.
The Department analyzes the data by reviewing preliminary import figures for both volume and price; a typical dumping case would involve a surge in imports accompanied by a significant fall in unit prices. Every six months, the Department does a formal review of the data, which includes industry input.
American Manufacturing Trade Action Coalition