U.S. Joins Mexico to Consult on China's Textile Subsidy Issue

Cass Johnson, president of the National Committee of the National Textile Council (NCTO), praised the U.S. government's decision to join Mexico to negotiate with China on China's textile subsidies.

He said: “We are very pleased that the United States has joined the negotiations in this very important event. For decades, the large-scale comprehensive subsidies provided by the Chinese government have hindered the free and fair market operation of the world textile and clothing trade. These subsidies have directly led to thousands of American textile workers are unemployed. The Mexican government’s accusation against the Chinese government is a landmark, exposing that the Chinese government’s intervention is mercantilist and aims to control one of the world’s largest manufacturing industries.”

In the past 11 years, imports of textiles and apparel products from China have increased by 52% or 34 billion U.S. dollars and are now approaching 41 billion U.S. dollars. China's market share increased from 10% to 40%. During this time, the United States lost 379,000 US textile jobs because the trade moved out of the Western Hemisphere. Textile and garment manufacturers in Mexico, Central America and the Andean region also lost thousands of manufacturing jobs.

He said: "The U.S. government decided to join the consultation and sent a strong signal to support the Mexican government in this important event."