Home>News Center>China
       
 

Canadian gov pressed to curb Chinese textile
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-07-10 21:32

Faced with a dizzying rise in Chinese textile imports since quotas were lifted in January, Canadian unions are pressing the government to introduce protectionist measures similar to trade barriers in Europe and the United States.


Workers at the Ningbo Silk Trend garment factory in the eastern Chinese port city of Ningbo. Faced with a dizzying rise in Chinese textile imports, Canadian unions are pressing the government to introduce protectionist measures. [AFP]

There has been a "106 percent increase in Chinese imports of men's clothes since the beginning of the year, 282 percent more jackets, 415 percent more bras, 629 percent more coats...," these are staggering numbers, according to Lina Aristeo, the local director of Unite Here, a North American association created in 2004 representing 490,000 members.

Chinese textile imports in Canada are up 40 percent in total since quotas were abolished, said Aristeo, prompting fear of massive job losses among the 144,000 Canadian clothing industry workers, more than half of them in the French-speaking province of Quebec.

Once the jewel of the Canadian textile industry, now on its last legs, Montreal had long benefitted from the low Canadian dollar and low salaries to sell clothes to its southern neighbour, but neither factor will save it now as Mexican and Chinese goods flood the US market.

Between December and June, factory closures or shift cuts have forced 1,200 people in the sector out of work in Quebec, including 800 in Huntington, devastating the small town of 2,600 people south of Montreal.

Faced with this situation, Unite Here and the Federation des travailleurs du Quebec, the largest trade union in the province, complained to the Canadian International Trade Tribunal on Friday to compel the Canadian government to act.

"We're asking the government to put safeguards in place to limit the increase of Chinese imports to 7.5 percent," Aristeo told AFP.

Such protections were already negotiated as part of the agreement to allow China to join the World Trade Organization, but Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin's minority government has balked at the idea.

The decision not to follow the lead of the United States or European Union was applauded by the Economic Institute of Montreal, an ultra-liberal think tank that decries the use of protectionist measures to counter the flight of companies abroad.

In May, the United States imposed quotas in seven categories limiting increases of Chinese imports to seven percent until 2008, in accordance with the agreement allowing China into the WTO.

The European Union has also signed an agreement with Beijing to limit imports of a dozen Chinese textile products by eight to 12.5 percent until the end of 2007.

In Canada, the separatist Bloc Quebecois tried in vain to push the government to act.

"If the industry makes a request... we'll look at it objectively," said Andrew Hannan, a spokesperson for Canada's department of international trade, noting no such request had been made.

In fact, only a handful of small and medium-sized businesses have complained to the unions.

"The representatives of the Canadian and Quebec clothing industry are no longer the true representatives of the industry. In most cases, they're the ones importing textiles," Aristeo said.



Special police detachment established in Xi'an
Panda cubs doing well in Wolong
Suspect arrested in Taiwan
  Today's Top News     Top China News
 

Taiwan's KMT Party to elect new leader Saturday

 

   
 

'No trouble brewing,' beer industry insists

 

   
 

Critics see security threat in Unocal bid

 

   
 

DPRK: Nuke-free peninsula our goal

 

   
 

Workplace death toll set to soar in China

 

   
 

No foreign controlling stakes in steel firms

 

   
  No foreign controlling stakes in steel firms
   
  China-made telescopes race to space
   
  'No trouble brewing,' beer industry insists
   
  HK investors cautious on mainland homes
   
  Law in pipeline to ban money laundering
   
  Overseas students test their Chinese abilities
   
 
  Go to Another Section  
 
 
  Story Tools  
   
  Related Stories  
   
Talks fail to reach compromise on textile row
   
China, US agree to continue textile talks
   
China, US discussing textile tensions
   
Greenspan & Snow: China tariffs to hurt US
   
Blame on China for US textile job losses unfair
   
China seeks early textile talks with US
   
Textile firms left with no quota for US exports
  News Talk  
  It is time to prepare for Beijing - 2008  
Advertisement
         
主站蜘蛛池模板: 中文在线字幕中文字幕| 亚洲高清美女一区二区三区| 18精品久久久无码午夜福利| 成人羞羞视频在线观看| 亚洲人成色77777| 男女一边摸一边做爽爽| 国产另类在线观看| 7777久久亚洲中文字幕蜜桃| 性初第一次电影在线观看| 乱人伦精品视频在线观看| 爽爽影院在线免费观看| 国产一区二区三区日韩欧美| xxx毛茸茸的亚洲| 大豆网52dun怪汉网如如| 中文字幕理伦午夜福利片| 最近免费最新高清中文字幕韩国| 亚洲美女色在线欧洲美女| 美女被免网站在线视频| 国产性夜夜春夜夜爽| 2019中文字幕免费电影在线播放| 好大好湿好硬顶到了好爽视频| 久久久久99精品成人片试看| 欧洲一区二区三区在线观看| 人人爽天天爽夜夜爽曰| 中文国产成人精品久久一| 欧洲mv日韩mv国产mv| 亚洲色图校园春色| 精品无码国产AV一区二区三区| 国产成人综合精品| 69视频在线观看免费| 好吊妞乱淫欧美| 中文字幕的电影免费网站| 最近2019免费中文字幕视频三| 亚洲欧美日韩精品久久| 秦先生第15部大战宝在线观看| 国产AV国片精品一区二区| 黄色网站免费在线观看| 国产美女精品视频| jizzjizz国产精品久久| 成年美女黄网站色大免费视频| 久草免费在线观看视频|