U.S. Re-Imposes Quotas on Chinese Clothing

Associated Press ^ | May 13, 2005 | Martin Crutsinger

[Torie]

Not for products 30 cent an hour workers can make competently. Actually, the wages in China are more like maybe $1.50, but that is irrelevant for purposes of this discussion.

[AntiGuv]

Well, just keep in mind that what is "better" is also in the eye of the beholder.. ;^)

[Torie]

I always keep that in mind. :)

[Happy2BMe]

U.S. Re-Imposes Quotas on Chinese Clothing

[lame_internet_name]

We have to have low skill jobs in this country just as much as we need high skill jobs. It is a fact of life that not all people are suited for high skill labor but they need an honest way to earn a living just as much as anybody else. There simply has to be a full spectrum of jobs in this country or we will soon become just another arrogant footnote in history.

[Torie]

Some low skill jobs are more productive in the information post industrial American economy than others. Textiles are in the "others" category.

[HiTech RedNeck]

It is not good to lose an entire industry's capability to a country that might not be our friend tomorrow.

[ran15]

One area I think America is going to really expand in is animal products, seeds and other agricultural products. Those Chinese and Indians are going to eat a lot of meat as they come out of total poverty.

As you say its a low skill job, but America is extremely productive at it. Unlike textiles which it seems we aren't very competitive at.

[A. Pole]

China is subsidizing us. Good.

Credit cards companies are subsidizing us. Good.

[snowsislander]

Well what is "level" is in the eye of the beholder. That typically is an excuse for protectionism. Textiles per force cannot be made in the US economically. It is low skilled and labor intensive.

That may be true for apparel, but the textile industry also encompasses making cloth, and the modern industry these days to make cloth is anything but "low skilled and labor intensive". The machinery to make cloth is generally made in Japan or Europe, and is expensive. (I just did a quick Google search, and it looks like the Indian companies are also trying to move into the business of selling this machinery too. Not surprising I guess since India is also a major textile manufacturer. I also saw some Chinese gear, but my assumption would be that those machines are just a crude, low-priced rip-off.)

Japan, which has comparable pay scales to the U.S. is still doing a good business making high quality cloth, and I think we can also. We even have a significant advantage over Japan in that we produce locally much of the inputs that they must import to produce textiles.

[panaxanax]

A good start?? Maybe not.

This is only going to limit the INCREASE to 7.5%. So, actually there will be more of these selected items coming in next year.

This reminds me of the story where the bully down the street beats up your kid every day, giving him a black eye and a bloody nose. You approach the bully and say "we've had enough". He says, "okay, tomorrow I'll only bloody his nose". Oh, thank you so much, we're "extremely grateful".

Meanwhile, President Bush (and the other Co-Presidents of the Americas) are meeting to pass CAFTA through and cripple what's left of the textile industry. Funny world, huh?

Thanks for the good post.

[superiorslots]

Quote: One area I think America is going to really expand in is animal products, seeds and other agricultural products. Those Chinese and Indians are going to eat a lot of meat as they come out of total poverty.

So you want our country to go from high paying hi-tech manufacturing jobs to lower paying agricultural jobs??

Also Indians don't eat cows. They worship them and the cows sh*t in their front yards. I worship cows differently: At places like Outback Steak house.

[ran15]

So you want our country to go from high paying hi-tech manufacturing jobs to lower paying agricultural jobs??

First agriculture isn't always a lower paying job. And there is a huge amount of jobs involved in the support of agriculture, like transportation, chemical fertilizer production etc..

But secondly America isn't producing enough high tech graduates to compete on the world level. Although certainly many high tech companies are based here, and even expanding to hire every one of the people who do graduate in those areas. To compete their main expansions have to be abroad.

[ran15]

Japan, which has comparable pay scales to the U.S. is still doing a good business making high quality cloth, and I think we can also.

We have an advantage right now in that we can raise capital to buy equipment. And in addition we can put them right next to the market, and most likely next to the design places.

[dr_who_2]

A moot point, in any event.

Precisely. So why does our government spend so much taxpayer money and time trying to square circles? It's a damn shame that my t-shirts were made by a bunch of Communist peons. But if China was run like the Czech Republic, U.S. textile manufacturers would still be complaining about "dumping" and people like yourself will sit idly by and wring your hands over it. If the clothing is cheap enough and not flimsy, I'll bloody well buy it unless of course a commitee of kiss-ass politicians, bureaucrats, and unions thinks I shouldn't. As for the US textile companies, if they relied less on cheap labor, "process" innovations like ISO-9000, and whining to politicians, they might have a chance.

[lame_internet_name]

"It is not good to lose an entire industry's capability to a country that might not be our friend tomorrow."

Amen to that!
Don't forget too that the more they export, the less poor the Chinese are going to be and someday they will get tired of doing all our work while we live at the top of the heap.
Sooner or later there aren't going to be any sources of low cost labor for us to depend on. I say we make it sooner so that we can learn how to go back to depending on ourselves in a controlled fashion rather than reacting to a crisis down the road.