The House report accompanying the appropriations bill for Commerce, Justice, science, and related agencies for fiscal year 2010 to be considered by the House today does not include a recommendation that the International Trade Administration continue monitoring apparel imports from Vietnam and establish such a system for imports from China.

This language was part of the report on the FY2009 Omnibus, in which the Appropriations Committee expressed the expectation that ITA undertake apparel import monitoring “focusing on prices of imports from China and Vietnam and whether their state-run industries are illegally pricing products and dumping in the U.S. market.”

Such monitoring was opposed by U.S. importers who claimed that no U.S. apparel maker was seeking such monitoring.

But the report accompanying the 2010 CJS appropriations bill as passed by the committee retains last year's wording recommending that ITA “implement proactive trade enforcement activities, including textile safeguard actions with respect to China's World Trade Organization Accession Agreement, bilateral quotas on non-WTO members, and textile provision of the United States preferential programs and agreements.”

The report includes a new recommendation for ITA to facilitate exports to China for small and medium-sized businesses. It asks Commerce to submit to Congress recommendations within 45 days of enactment of the bill on the feasibility of giving small and medium sized U.S. businesses more assistance to export goods to China.

According to the report accompanying the bill, ITA should look at Commerce's ability to find federal and private resources to facilitate entering the Chinese market, assist with disputes between the U.S. and China over intellectual property rights violations, export restrictions and other trade barriers.

It should look at trade missions to China and a consolidation of fees charged by Commerce for “Gold Key matching services provided for businesses that export goods or services produced in the United States to more than one market in [China],” according to the legislative report language. Through those service's Commerce's U.S. Commercial Service consults with U.S. exporters and arranges meetings with distributors and government officials in foreign markets where those businesses are looking to export to. The report language recommends that ITA should also look at the costs and number of additional personnel needed for such an effort.

June 16, 2009

Source: www.insidetrade.com