New U.S. textile curbs on China may sour Hu trip

[Eugene]

New U.S. textile curbs on China may sour Hu trip
Thu Sep 1, 2005 1:17 PM ET

By Alan Wheatley, China Economics Editor

BEIJING (Reuters) - The United States imposed extra curbs on Chinese
imports on Thursday, hours after talks on a formula to deal with
China's surging textile shipments ended in failure.

The limits on Chinese-made bras and synthetic filament fabric used to
make clothing, upholstery and other everyday products underline the
growing friction in Sino-American trade ties and cast a shadow over
President Hu Jintao's visit to the United States next week.

Beijing and Washington had hoped that Hu and President Bush could
bless a textiles pact as a positive development in a relationship
strained by political issues such as Taiwan as well as by China's
swelling trade surplus.

But officials from the two sides met only briefly on Thursday morning
after two days of haggling in the Chinese capital failed to narrow
differences.

More: http://today.reuters.com/business/newsArticle.aspx?type=ousiv&storyID=2005-09-01T171638Z_01_PEK302206_RTRIDST_0_BUSINESSPRO-TRADE-CHINA-TEXTILES-DC.XML