Here come the textiles

International Herald Tribune ^ | December 18, 2004 | unknown

[tbird5]

At 12:01 a.m. on Jan. 1, ships laden with cotton underwear, khaki slacks and cashmere sweaters will leave the port of Hong Kong. Their destination will be the Gap, Printemps, Wal-Mart and a slew of other retail stores, and eventually closets, from Paris to Peoria. These textile and apparel exports will be the first in a new post-quota world, envisioned some 10 years ago when the World Trade Organization ordered that clothing import quotas be abolished by 2005. . The end of textile quotas presents a textbook example of the benefits of free trade. If companies like the Limited and Banana Republic can buy specific clothing items from the cheapest and most efficient producer, no matter where they are located, then consumers should see a sharp reduction in the price of clothing. The quota elimination should also benefit workers in developing countries that have seen their growth potential limited because they couldn't sell as many trousers to the United States as they could make. . Of course, trade doesn't exist in a theoretical world. In real life, U.S. textile interests, seeking to protect their dying industry, have persuaded U.S. trade officials to negotiate "surge protections" into the agreement. So if clothing imports - from China, specifically - surge, the Americans can close the door again. The U.S. government has already curtailed imports of Chinese bras because domestic manufacturers complained that those imports were growing too fast. .

[nanak]

"The spirit of manufacture has taken deep root among us, and its foundations are laid in too great expense to be abandoned." ---Thomas Jefferson to Pierre Samuel Dupont de Nemours, 1809. ME 12:294

[endthematrix]

After some research I found that America never had a strong shoe industry. As far a saving a "dying" textile base, forget it. It's dead.