Measures adopted by the United States to protect its garment industry against an influx of cheap Chinese textiles would not save American jobs, the chairman of International Textile Group (ITG) told Hong Kong textile producers yesterday.
Speaking at an American Chamber of Commerce lunch, William Ross argued that US safeguard quotas on Chinese textile products would simply spur imports from other low-cost countries.
'All it accomplishes is a redistribution of imports,' said Mr Ross, whose firm owns garment processing plants in China.
He scoffed at the notion that protectionist measures would return jobs to the US textile industry. 'It's a joke if anybody thinks that that would be the case,' he said.
Textile quotas under Multi-Fibre Arrangement expired in January.
Following surges in cheap Chinese textile imports, the US reimposed import caps using a clause in China's accession agreement to the World Trade Organisation that allows countries to protect their garment industries.
