Report: US, China agree on textile imports (chinadaily.com.cn) Updated: 2005-11-05 12:06
China and the United States have reached a tentative agreement on imports of
Chinese clothing and fabric, the Washinigton Post reported Saturday.
A shop assistant
puts socks on mannequin feet in a store in Beijing in this undated file
photo. [AFP] | The deal is expected to resolve a festering dispute between the two nations,
the newspaper cited industry sources as saying.
The deal would begin on Jan. 1 and last through 2008 -- a concession by
China, which wanted it to expire in 2007, a anonymous source was quoted as
saying.
It would allow imports of most major textile and apparel products from China
to increase by 8 to 10 percent in 2006, by 13 percent in 2007 and by 17 percent
in 2008 -- a concession by the United States, which had proposed keeping annual
growth close to 7.5 percent, according to the Post.
Although a few details remain to be resolved, the agreement is likely to be
signed next week by U.S. Trade Representative Rob Portman and Chinese Commerce
Minister Bo Xilai, the report said.
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