Textile and Apparel Exports of China and the WTO 中国纺织品服装出口与wto.pdf

Textile and Apparel Exports of China and the WTO Zhiming Zhang Institute of Textiles and Clothing, Hong Kong Polytechnic University ABSTRACT In this paper the impacts of entry to the WTO on the textile and apparel exports of China are examined. Generally in the short run the growth of exports will not be significant. The US and European countries which have imposed quota on China’s exports account for a small proportion of China’s total exports, thus the effects of lift of quota as a result of China’s entry to the WTO will be limited. Acceleration of quota growth will only bring a small amount of increase in exports. Even after the phase-out of MFA, there will be other obstacles and barriers that will prevent a significant expansion of exports of China. Implications of these factors are also discussed. Keywords : WTO, textiles and apparel, international trade 1. INTRODUCTION China has been trying to join GATT (General Agreement on Trade and Tariffs) and its successor the WTO (World Trade Organization) since 1986. Since then, numerous negotiations have been held between China and the other parties involved. To use the words of Mr. Zhu Rongji, prime minister of China, the negotiation was such a long process that “black hair had turned white”, yet one and half decades later, China is still not a WTO member. Many times the negotiations were more political than economic. Nevertheless, by the end of 1999, China signed the agreement with the United States, which had been regarded as the largest obstacle for China to join the WTO, and the agreement was regarded as the real breakthrough. Each side was hopeful that China would join the WTO soon. Later, China also signed the agreement with European Union, overcoming another major obs