China is used as an alibi in the textile trade friction, said Munir Ahmad, executive director of International Textiles and Clothing Bureau (ITCB).

"The convenience of using China as an alibi has given the possibility of applying restrictions on China's export under the provision of its WTO accession Protocol," Munir Ahmad said Friday.

China is the major textile exporter in the world. The United States and the European Union (EU) adopted restrictions on Chinese textiles claiming flood of Chinese textile exports have disturbed their domestic markets after the textile quotas expired on Jan.1, 2005.

The textile industries in the US and EU extract promises from their administrations to adopt measures of trade protectionism, said Munir Ahmad at the "WTO and China: Beijing International Forum".

Munir Ahmad was afraid that trade in textiles and clothing would be faced with a further period of transition, with China being called upon to bear the brunt although the US and EU trade policy lie at the heart of the issue.

Total EU textiles and clothing imports in January-May of 2005 decreased by 9.7 percent in Euro terms and decreased 3.63 percent in terms of volume, while the US office of Textile and Apparel (OTEXA) showed the overall increase in January-June of 2005 has been 11 percent in dollar terms and 9 percent in volume terms, according to statistics from the European Commission's official website.

"This magnitude of import increase in the case of the US is hardly unusual, for during the five of last ten years, US experienced import increase of 10 percent or more even under the quota regime," said Munir Ahmad.

Munir Ahmad said the US and the EU industry interests joined hands in early 2004 seeking to produce a joint platform under the banner of so-called Istanbul Declaration and they succeeded in generating a momentum, also building on the anxiety of some developing countries in the new environment.

Munir Ahmad pointed out the textile interests, especially in the US, have historically been adept at using every opportunity coming their way to force the US administration to adopt measures of trade protectionism.

"This time, it proved to be no exception and the industry lobbies won the administration to hold back Chinese textiles," said Munir Ahmad.

According to Munir Ahmad, China will witness another period of uncertainty. "China should actively explain its part of the story, especially in the face of the allegations swirling around in respect of such factors as state subsidization of its exports and remission of non-performing loans to its enterprises," he said.

It should also extend a helping hand to other developing countries for sustainable growth of their industries in the section, added Munir Ahmad.

Source: Xinhua