China-U.S. textile talks end without agreement
(AFP)
Updated: 2005-09-29 21:33

China said Thursday that textile talks in Washington with the United States had ended without an agreement being reached and that another round of negotiations would be held.

A man pushes his flatbed tricyle loaded with boxes full of clothing through a warehouse district in Beijing. [AFP]

"China and the United States held the fifth round of textile talks in Washington D.C., the two sides made positive progress in the talks, but some differences remain as well," the Ministry of Commerce said in a statement.

"Both sides agreed to hold the next rounds of talks as quickly as possible and fix the time and place for them through diplomatic channels."

The announcement came after the two sides extended negotiations to a third day Wednesday in the dispute over limits on Chinese textiles to the US market.

Industry sources had cast doubt on prospects for a deal, but officials said the two-day meeting had been extended to give the delegations more time to narrow their yawning differences.

"We have made good progress in our discussions over the past couple of days and, although we still have differences, we feel that additional time to work on the issues would be beneficial," chief US negotiator David Spooner said late Tuesday.

Chinese textile exports to the United States have rocketed by an average of 627 percent since global quotas on the trade were lifted on January 1, according to US industry figures.

US textile associations have filed a barrage of petitions with the government demanding new quotas against Chinese garment exports.

Authorities have looked favourably on most of the petitions so far.

But the US Trade Representative's (USTR) office says the quotas are "cumbersome" and would prefer an agreement that injects some certainty for importers and retailers until 2008.