Retailers seek to block US curbs on Chinese textiles

A coalition of American garment importers have filed a lawsuit to block the Commerce Department from imposing curbs on China's textiles, the New York Times reported Thursday.

The Association of Importers of Textiles and Apparel said Wednesday it had filed the case at the United States Court of International Trade.

Four-decade-old quotas on textile trade are set to expire at the end of the year, ending a system that limited trade in 2,400 items, including cotton shirts and denim.

The expiration pits American textile makers, who fear more competition from China, against retailers, who want cheaper products, said the report.

The Commerce Department bowed to textile makers last month, saying it would consider separate restrictions on the 1.3-billion-US-dollar clothing imports from China.

The retail group, based in New York, argued the government's Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements accepted petitions by textile makers based on arbitrary factors.

The Commerce Department, which leads the government's textile review process, said it was reviewing those petitions, according to the report.