Higher tariff would harm US cotton trade with China: NCC

05 Apr '18

2 min read

China’s announcement of significantly higher proposed tariffs on US raw cotton shipped to that country would significantly harm the economic health of the US cotton industry, the National Cotton Council has said. For the current 2017 crop year, China stands as the second largest export market with purchases of approximately 2.5 million bales of US cotton.

“I cannot overstate the importance of China’s market to US cotton farmers and the importance of US cotton in meeting the needs of China’s textile industry,” NCC Chairman Ron Craft said. “The cotton industries of the United States and China enjoy a healthy, mutually beneficial relationship.”

Cotton has been listed among multiple US agricultural products that could potentially be hit with higher tariffs from China—specifically an in-quota tariff that would increase from one per cent to 26 per cent, according to GAIN Report of the Foreign Agriculture Service of the US department of agriculture (USDA).

The GAIN Report noted that China’s proposal of retaliatory tariffs on selected US agricultural products is in response to the recent US proposed tariffs on Chinese imports resulting from the Section 301 investigation into the forced transfer of US technology and intellectual property.

Craft said the NCC strongly encourages the two governments to engage in immediate discussions “that can resolve trade tensions and preserve this long-term collaborative relationship. The US cotton industry stands ready to assist the US government and our trading partners in China to find a resolution to this damaging trade dispute.” (RKS)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk – India

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