China Textile Magazine

Based on its abundant costume culture foundation and overwhelming superiority in garment industry, Ningbo International Fashion Festival has been held successively 12 times since 1997. In the past 12 years, as one of the most important civil festivals and celebrations in garment industry, it has become typical of harmonious combination between industry and culture, with high reputation both at home and abroad. Ningbo International Fashion Festival functions as a vital platform of economic and technological communication and cooperation in garment industry to fully display fashionable and vigorous Ningbo and perfectly show the civilized image of Ningbo as a modern international part and its amazing achievements since the reform and opening-up policy.

Dominic Johnson-Hill has never been one to follow rules. At an age most teenagers enter college and start on the path to adulthood, Johnson-Hill left his native Britain to travel the world. For three years he moved from place to place until a trip to Qingdao led him to Beijing. Since then, he has settled down in a traditional Beijing courtyard home, called a siheyuan, with his wife and three daughters. In 2006, he opened Plastered 8--Chuangketie--in Nanluoguxiang. Specializing in t-shirts emblazoned with images representative of Beijing, Plastered 8 is poised to become an international brand capable of giving the world a glimpse into the heart of Chinese culture.

    From lagging behind in the global textile industry to today being its undisputed leader, China has reached the pinnacle after going through many trials and tribulations. At this historical moment, how do we evaluate the national textile industry's past, present, and future, and the individuals who lead it? We turn to Du Yuzhou, president of China National Textile and Apparel Council, with our questions.

    It has been 60 years since foundation of the People's Republic of China. The 60 years of China's Textile Industry are really complicated and brilliant. These 60 years, China has experienced a huge transformation, from short supply of textile and apparel to nowadays big country of it.

    In the first three quarters of 2009, the textile industry continues to maintain rising trend in general, and this trend is increasingly clear. Although the international market demand remains in the doldrums, the industry is still at the bottom of the export shock, the sector of production and investment continued to rise, profits rebounded significantly, the industry structure adjustment speeded; at the same time, the grim situation of employment has slowed down, the amount of labor in some sub-sectors began to pick up, the guiding principle of the state "maintaining growth, expanding domestic demand, readjusting the structure," had been better implemented, which made great contribution to  macro-economic recovery and social stability.

  This October, besides the usual China International Trade Fair for Apparel Fabrics and Accessories held in the city of Shanghai, another important event was set to take place in Shanghai -- the 2009 Annual Conference of the International Textile Manufacturers Federation (ITMF), making Shanghai the place focusing all the attention of the global textile industries markedly. 

In the run up to the expiry of quota restrictions that had long regulated much of global trade in textiles and clothing, many a pundit predicted widespread recourse to anti-dumping actions.

WTO rules permit action to offset the injurious effect of dumping. Yet the apprehension was that given the protection enjoyed by textile industries in quota-imposing countries, it was difficult to see the entrenched interests giving up and that, therefore, the abolition of quotas might give rise to increased anti-dumping actions.

The latest release of "2009 China Luxury Forecast" shows that while the financial crisis is leading a general decline in demand for luxury brands in Europe, America and Japan, the global economic downturn has had limited impact on Chinese luxury consumption and that there is widespread confidence in the future among Chinese luxury consumers.

Background

President Obama will soon be required to decide whether to impose quotas or other restrictions against imports of passenger and light truck tires from China.

l         On April 20^th, 2009

The United Steelworkers, qualifying as an "entity" "representative of an industry" under Section 201 of the U.S. Trade Act of 1974, petitioned the Obama Administration to enact a temporary "safeguard" remedy to protect the manufacture and sale of low-grade commercial tires in the United States against a surge of imports from China.

The law amended the Trade Act of 1974 by adding a new section 421 providing that,

If a product of the People's Republic of China is being imported into the United States in such increased quantities or under such conditions as to cause or threaten to cause market disruption to the domestic producers of a like or directly competitive product, the President shall, in accordance with the provisions of this section, proclaim increased duties or other import restrictions with respect to such product, to the extent and for such period as the President considers necessary to prevent or remedy the market disruption.

The USW represents about 15,000 tire workers at 13 plants in nine states. Arguing that domestic production of consumer tires declined by over 25 percent during 2004-2008, and that the Chinese producers' share of the consumer tire market in the United States increased from less than five percent to more than 17 percent, the USW requested that China be limited to an annual import quota of 21 million consumer passenger tires for a three-year period. This would limits imports from China to the 2005 level.