Textiles and clothing products together constitute one of the most contentious issues at the WTO. While many developing countries have made textiles production a major part of economic output developed countries have put in place complex systems of quotas and tariffs to protect their domestic industries from international competition. At first blush it seems the elimination of textile quotas and tariffs would benefit developing countries. But China's accession into the WTO has left many developing countries wondering what will happen to their industries in the future. Those figures contradict the textile industry's rendition of reality. Quite interestingly most of the export growth to China occurred after implementation of the third stage of the ATC. The third stage was really the first to feature any real liberalization in clothing trade and as China responded by ramping up its clothing production demand from its apparel operations for textile inputs simultaneously shot up. The U.S. textile industry is thus a significant beneficiary of quota liberalization-- a conclusion it appears keen on downplaying. The ongoing negotiations on WTO accession by Vietnam are very complex. It is far from certain the process can be completed during 2005 as desired by Vietnam. Negotiations on Laos' accession started on Oct 28 2004 and WTO accession by this country is several years down the road. Traditional Chinese costumes consist of two parts: clothing and personal Personalornaments. Personal ornaments came into being first followed by the birth of the traditional Chinese clothing. Both underwent a process of extremely complicated development although seeminglytheir metamorphosis seems simple. The driving force for this process was hidden deep in the Chinese culture itself. It stemmed from those intricate complicated relationships that worked together to promote a cultural evolution in this country. While an important carrier of the traditional Chinese culture in its entirety traditional costumes themselves became a complete cultural system.In fact a unique system of Orientalthroughculture developed over a period of 5000 Thisyears. This system once exerted a profound ever-lasting influence on the world and inparticular Asian countries. I doubt that the United States will work with Europe, Japan, and other industrial countries to set up a "new", but re-named MFA system. Instead I expect that each country will apply its own safeguards, tailored to local conditions in individual product markets. That said, my strong recommendation to China is lead the entire world as a champion of trade liberalization - slash barriers on other imports besides clothing and textiles. And slash the barriers ahead of any negotiated cuts in the Doha Development Round. China can best fight trade protectionism by setting an example of free trade. While developing countries should be enthusiastic for the implementation of the ATC, India, Egypt, Pakistan, and some Latin American countries are concerned that the removal of quotas and the impact of China in the WTO will actually harm their textile industries. First, countries that have preferential trade agreements with developed countries will lose the edge they had when they were granted higher quotas than their competitors. Once quotas are removed completely, market share will go to countries with the cheapest labor and the cheapest raw materials.[5] Second, since China has arguably the cheapest labor and one of the strongest textile industries in the world, developing countries are concerned that their products will not be able to compete in the global marketplace if China can export without limit. Even with quotas, Chinese textiles have ballooned on the US market, taking 30-40% of the market share in areas like brassieres and dressing gowns. Thus, by the conclusion of the round eight years later, the ATC emerged, stipulating a four-stage phase-out of the quotas over a 10-year period.Shutdown of Silk StreetIn the famous Silk Street in Beijing, people used to be able to find fake or counterfeit garments very easily, so this street attracted many foreign visitors and Chinese nationals in the past. In order to solve this problem, in 2004, Beijing municipality took some target measures to solve this issue. As a consequence, fake products bearing international brand names are now forbidden to be sold in this street. If any shop in this street is found to sell any fake products, the shop will be investigated. If any shop is found guilty twice, that shop will be forbidden to operate in this street and the owner will be put on the Watch List in the national computerized tracking system. USITC acknowledges Chinese inclusion in the ATC phase out is likely to affect U.S. textile and apparel industries, with U.S. apparel producers and workers experiencing the more adverse effects. A study commissioned for the American Textile Manufacturers' Institute in September 1999 estimates direct textile and apparel job losses at over 95,000 as a result of China joining the ATC. Yong Tang: How do you evaluate the trend of the Sino-America trade relations within a few years? The Dean of the School of Management of Yale University said recently that China and America will go to more violent economic confrontation within a few years. He said that China's economic growth rate is so high that America feels it unable to cope with it. He even predicted that the economic confrontation between China and USA is just like a tsunami which may drown both side. How should China and America do in order to prevent that prediction from becoming a reality?

The ongoing negotiations on WTO accession by Vietnam are very complex. It is far from certain the process can be completed during 2005, as desired by Vietnam. Negotiations on Laos' accession started on Oct 28, 2004, and WTO accession by this country is several years down the road. In the post-Mao era China competed successfully for a place in the international trade in textiles and apparel, but its economic success has not been matched by recognition of Chinese fashion design on the world stage. One reason for this lies in the obstacles posed by the existing hierarchy of fashion capitals, which has proved notoriously difficult to subvert. Shanghai may mean fashion in China, but unlike Paris, it does not mean that to the world at large. Yet the Chinese fashion industry is also bedevilled by problems of its own. A high degree of national self-consciousness on the world stage is evident in international fashion shows featuring rather predictable pastiches of Chinese culture. It may be the case that state-sponsored nationalism militates against both a more interesting approach to cultural heritage on the part of designers and a more receptive climate for Chinese fashion on international catwalks.

career space to develop, Chinese professional women have paid more and more attention to their outlooks. Many topics in media are stressing the meaning of using decent and tashionable dress to earn more favor for one's profession. Yong Tang: If the quota system is to be killed as planned, what does it mean to international textile trade? Is the time ripe for the termination of the quota system? Developed countries have been given 10 years to make major adjustments to their own textile industry. Is the time enough? In order to touch the most active clothing consumers, a questionnaire was designed for respondents aged 15 to 45. Questionnaire survey was carried out in six cities of China, including Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Chengdu, Harbin and Xi'an. These are among the largest cities in China, and are relatively evenly distributed geographically: Beijing in the North, Shanghai in the East, Xi'an in the Northwest, Chengdu in the Southwest, Guangzhou in the South, and Harbin in the Northeast.

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