In late December 2004, Judge Richard Goldberg of the U.S. Court of International Justice blocked the United States from imposing emergency quotes on the import of textiles from China.
In order to appease U.S. textile companies, the Commerce Department prepared to impose a number of emergency quotas on the import of jeans, underwear and other clothing products from China. U.S. clothing retailers filed a lawsuit arguing that they would suffer irreparable damage if the emergency quotes were to go into effect.
Goldberg issued a temporary injunction barring the quotas from going into effect, agreeing that retailers would suffer irreparable harm from the quotas and that the quotas should be blocked while the court heard the case.
Under trade agreements that the United States is signed, this year it must remove its textile quota system. Textile companies fear that once the artificial barriers against Chinese textiles are removed, that Chinese textiles will flood the U.S. market. And that would be bad how?
The textile companies created this very situation. Rather than gradually phase out the quotas, they clung to them to protect their anti-competitive products, and now face the prospect of the quotas disappearing with one fell swoop.
The U.S., meanwhile, continues to play the role of preaching the wonders of free trade and the importance of adhering to international trade agreements . . . unless U.S. special interests find this inconvenient, in which case all bets are off and suddenly protectionism is all the rage.
Sources:
U.S. Judge Bars Limits on Imports of China Textiles. Reuters, December 31, 2004.
US Textile Makers Lose Bid to Cap Chinese Imports. Xinhua News Agency, January 2, 2005.
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