Chesnutt explained that through its vast array of subsidies, China has been able to gain a nearly 50 percent share of world trade in apparel since 2000 while its exports of textile and apparels to the United States have increased from $6.5 billion to $30.6 billion, a increase of nearly 400 percent.
Chesnutt said, “The impact of China's government policies on the U.S. and North Carolina's textile industry has been nothing short of devastating. U.S. textile mill shipments have declined by 25 percent since 2000, and more than 160,000 textile workers have lost their jobs, with 11,365 workers losing their jobs in North Carolina in 2006.”
Chesnutt proposed a nine step program that would lead to a revitalization of U.S. manufacturing. Key steps include: • Pass Strong Currency Legislation • Extend or Replace the Current China Textile Safeguards • Create a Comprehensive Subsidy Database on China for use by U.S. Manufacturers • Increase Dumping and CVD Assistance to Small and Medium-Sized Manufacturers • Increase and Re-Prioritize Enforcement Efforts at USTR and the Department of Commerce • Review China's Government Support of Its State-Owned Industrial Sectors, Including Textiles, and Penalize Illegal Transactions • Increase and Reform Customs Enforcement Efforts Targeting China • Develop a More Effective Enforcement System that Holds U.S. Importers Responsible for the Products They Import and Provides for Stronger Penalties for Those Who Violate the Law • Impose Penalties on Companies that Import Products which were Made by Companies Who Pollute the Environment
Chesnutt concluded that “as the production and job loss statistics demonstrate, U.S. textile companies, as well as other manufacturing sectors, cannot survive when they are pitted against the Chinese government."
"As the Chinese government moves to progressively target the highest technology sectors of our economy (including aircraft, automobiles and semiconductors), we face the prospect of sector after sector in the United States falling before the Chinese onslaught.”