酥餅的BLOG

華爾街日報報導，歐盟跟中國商業部長在上海達成紡織品出口協議，雙方在十大類紡織品上達成共識，歐盟同意中國由現在至2007年在不同類別，每年可以8％到12.5％的速度成長。這項協議還需要歐盟會員國同意後才能生效。

WTO允許中國的交易伙伴不需經過協議即限制中國紡織品不得以高過7.5％的年成長率成長，美國就是在未與中國協議下就立下7.5％的成長限額。相對的歐洲採取與美國不同的步調，選擇與中國協商，並給予比WTO限制更寬鬆的限定。

中國的商業部長在協議後的記者會就意有所指的說，歐盟選擇有禮貌的跟中國商量，不像「有些國家」。

這次的協議是歐盟與美國對如何面對中國崛起歧見的又一個例子。歐洲想要支持鼓勵中國發展，但是美國想要影響他發展的方向。

歐盟與中國現在達成協議對正在推行中美洲自由貿易協定的布希政府來說，是個有趣的時間點，由於美國製糖業與紡織業害怕會面臨更劇烈的競爭，美國國會出乎布希預料的反對中美洲貿易協定，布希之前對中國紡織品採強硬態度對反對自由貿易的勢力有減壓作用。

歐盟對中國採取協商路線的另一個原因是歐盟25個會員國對中國紡織品的態度也不盡相同，義大利跟法國主張限制進口，但是其他國家害怕限制進口會影響零售業發展。

歐盟跟中國的關係還有新的挑戰，最新的數據顯示歐盟自中國進口鞋的數量急速增加，歐盟有可能會對中國啟動妨傾銷的機制。

報導全文如下：

China, EU Forge
Textiles-Trade Deal

By PETER WONACOTT in Shanghai, SCOTT MILLER in Brussels and GREG HITT in London
Staff Reporters of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL
June 13, 2005; Page A3

A friendly 11th-hour deal between China and the European Union on curbing Chinese textile exports contrasts with the less-accommodating approach of unilateral quotas imposed by the U.S. It comes as divisions are emerging between the U.S. and Europe on a range of issues over how to respond to China's rising economic power.

Meeting at a government guesthouse in Shanghai, Chinese Commerce Minister Bo Xilai and EU trade chief Peter Mandelson on Friday resolved a dispute over surging exports of Chinese T-shirts, flax yarn, bed and kitchen linens and other textiles to European markets. Under the deal, which must be approved by EU member states, the two sides agreed to set limits on 10 categories of Chinese textile products.

The limits -- which are to last through 2007 and range from growth of 8% to 12.5% a year -- allow for greater growth than the 7.5% annual cap that the EU is allowed to unilaterally impose under China's World Trade Organization agreement.

China's textile sales to Europe and the U.S. have surged following the lifting of a global quota system at the end of 2004, and have become a major irritant in China's relations with its trading partners. Under Beijing's 2001 accession agreement to the WTO, China's trading partners may impose "safeguard" caps of up to 7.5% a year on the growth of Chinese textile imports if the imports are shown to disrupt their markets. In April, the Commerce Department cited disruption to industry and imposed caps on several categories of Chinese textiles.

In Washington, a Commerce Department spokesman yesterday said officials are "reviewing the agreement." But amid the rise of anti-China sentiments in the U.S. and with the Bush administration hemmed in by domestic concerns, the space for U.S. compromise on the textiles issue could be limited, at least over the next two months.

China made clear that it prefers resolving disputes the EU way. After reaching the agreement with Mr. Mandelson, Mr. Bo praised his counterpart and took a thinly veiled jab at the harder line taken by the U.S. "Unlike some other countries, the EU didn't take unilateral steps against China, but discussed the issue in a friendly manner," Mr. Bo told reporters. "Chinese people have a saying: 'If you respect me by an inch, I'll respect you by a foot.' "

The official Xinhua news agency Saturday described the deal as providing a "new paradigm for settling similar differences in bilateral trade." The report expressed hope that the China-EU agreement would help bring about a breakthrough in China's textile-trade dispute with the U.S.

Tensions over China's textile exports are the latest sign of how the world is struggling to adjust to the country's growth -- and how countries are taking different approaches.

Both the U.S. and the EU have challenged China across a spectrum of trade issues, such as currency-management practices and its rampant counterfeiting of foreign products. But for some Chinese analysts, the Sino-EU textile deal underscores the difference between how Europe and the U.S. approach China. "I think a lot of European countries want to support and encourage China's development, while the Americans want to influence the direction" of its development, says Feng Zhongping, director of European studies at the China Institute of Contemporary International Relations, a Beijing think tank affiliated with China's state-security apparatus.

Over U.S. objections, the EU has welcomed China as a partner in developing a satellite-directed navigation system to rival the American-controlled global positioning system. China's participation has potential payoffs for its military by possibly giving the People's Liberation Army access to a satellite system to guide its missiles and troops in any armed conflict. The EU has also been considering lifting an arms embargo imposed against China in 1989 -- a move the U.S. also opposes -- and, in recent years, it has refrained from publicly criticizing Beijing over its human-rights record.

The EU deal comes at a delicate time for President Bush, whose push for trade liberalization with Central America has run into unexpectedly strong opposition in Congress. Opposition to the Central American Free Trade Agreement, which is considered Mr. Bush's top trade priority for 2005, has been fueled by worry about the treaty's effect on U.S. sugar producers and textile makers, who will face greater foreign competition, and broader concern about Beijing's economic clout. The import curbs slapped on Chinese-made textiles by Mr. Bush this spring helped to dilute opposition from U.S. textile manufacturers to Cafta.

Pressure has mounted in Congress -- from both political parties -- for the administration to take a tougher line with Beijing. Amid the summer's Cafta debate, the Senate and House are expected to take up legislation to pressure China to revalue its currency, which critics say is undervalued and gives unfair advantage to its exporters.

Unlike the U.S., the EU has been wary of taking a hard line with China over trade. The EU has held negotiations with China on its textile exports since April, going well beyond the negotiating requirements set by the WTO. This cautious approach reflects the EU's political realities. Among its 25 member nations, Italy and France have called for Chinese import caps; others, such as the Scandinavian countries, have warned that these restrictions would be bad for retailers, importers and, ultimately, consumers. Europe's trade deficit with China, at $95.2 billion for 2004, was also less than half the U.S. deficit with the Asian giant for the same period.

The EU's more-accommodating stance with China will face a new test in the months ahead. The EU has released new data showing massive jumps in Chinese shoe imports, which it says could lead to antidumping measures and possibly a fight at the WTO.

--Mei Fong in Hong Kong and Ellen Zhu and Linda Lin in Shanghai contributed to this article.