Former Chairman of NCTO and current President and CEO of National Spinning, Inc., Jim Chesnutt, testifies today before the U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission regarding the threat posed by China in textile and apparel manufacturing and how current trade remedies have performed in addressing the China threat.
The hearing today is the one field hearing conducted by the Commission this year and will examine the effect of Chinese exports of clothing, textiles and furniture on the economy of North Carolina.
As a component of the hearing, the Commission will also consider the effectiveness of current policies in addressing the problems created by subsidized imports from China including whether trade remedies, such as antidumping penalties, are adequate to protect jobs from unfair competition.
As part of his testimony, Chesnutt released an NCTO analysis shows that the Chinese government offers its textile manufacturers 73 different subsidies. Chesnutt criticized the U.S. government's slow pace of action on China:
“The central issue is not what policies or practices the central government in Beijing has undertaken; rather, the central issue is how our own government has responded, or, more accurately, has failed to respond to China's deliberate economic intervention on behalf of its citizens and its industry.”
As an example, Chesnutt noted that the governnment still has not developed a comprehensive list of Chinese subsidies, that its WTO subsidy list has not been updated since 2004 and that China is not listed on the subsidy website as having even a single subsidy.
-Ltd..jpg?tr=w-120,h-60,c-at_max,cm-pad_resize,bg-ffffff "Thermore (Far East) Ltd.")
.jpg?tr=w-120,h-60,c-at_max,cm-pad_resize,bg-ffffff "Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation Limited (TSllC Ltd)")
.jpg?tr=w-120,h-60,c-at_max,cm-pad_resize,bg-ffffff "Taiwan Textile Federation (TTF)")
