China Threatens U.S. Over Textile Import Restrictions: "SHANGHAI, May 30 -- China on Monday threatened to take the United States to a formal dispute proceeding at the World Trade Organization if the Bush administration persists in restricting imports of Chinese-made textiles.
China also rescinded tariffs on its own textile exports, asserting that it will not limit its shipments as it offered to do last week so long as the United States and Europe impose their own restrictions.
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At a press conference in Beijing, China's Commerce Minister, Bo Xilai, unleashed the latest rhetorical volley in an intensifying trade conflict, warning that his government might formally accuse the United States of foul play if the Bush administration does not lift quotas on its textiles.
'This is a legitimate right that China is entitled to and we will resort to this mechanism when it is time to do so,' Bo told reporters, according to Bloomberg News.
That threat came only days before Bo is scheduled to receive his American counterpart, U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez, who is due in Beijing on Thursday to hold talks on the textile conflict and the larger issue of how to lessen China's $160 billion trade surplus with the United States.
The growing intensity of the dispute underscores the degree to which domestic pressures now appear to be leading both sides to push hard, lest they face accusations of appeasement. Analysts emphasized that Beijing and Washington both appear to be engaged in a show of their toughness aimed at assuaging their domestic industries and not in a genuine escalation.
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