COBLE PRAISES BUSH ADMINISTRATION FOR IMPOSING CHINESE CURTAIN SAFEGUARDS

The co-chairman of the Congressional Textile Caucus is praising the Bush administration today for imposing safeguards limiting the importation of curtains and drapery from China. U.S. Rep. Howard Coble (R-NC) said he has just received word that the U.S. Commerce Department will implement a quota on the amount of curtains and drapery that may be imported from China.

“We have been petitioning the Commerce Department for months to implement these safeguards,” Congressman Coble said, “because the few remaining U.S. manufacturers of these products are drowning in a sea of cheap Chinese imports. I am appreciative of the Bush administration’s commitment to fair trade by looking at the facts in this case and ruling affirmatively for the implementation of quotas in this specific category.”

The next step in the process is for the publication of a notice in the Federal Register which calls for a 30-day comment period. Following that time frame, the Commerce Department will make a determination within 60 days whether to request consultations with China. If consultations are requested, quotas will be implemented immediately, and the two countries will try to reach a mutually satisfactory solution to the level of Chinese imports.

Congressman Coble said this was a significant development in the process. “We had the facts on our side that Chinese imports were crippling American manufacturers,” Coble concluded, “and I am delighted that the Bush administration lent us a receptive ear to hear our case.”