This article discusses EU textile Association frustration at the recent great increase in textiles (clothing & other materials) being imported to Europe following the agreement on textiles.
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20050408/bs_afp/euchinatradetextiles_050408155430They suggest the EU implement new tarrifs on Chinese textiles as this is an 'unusual' situation, which would totally reverse all changes the recent ending of textiles had fought for. The reason subsidies and tariffs are removed by market favouring systems is that they create what is called in economics a 'dead-weight loss', a loss of money that no-one gains as there is a huge efficiency created.
The solution to this mess would be to rapidly legislate and implement that the same standards that are applied to import of goods for quality and material composition are applied to labour and environmental standards in production. That is to say that most developing countries, including the EU, these days have decently funded governmental bodies, and staff and systems in customer companies who check quality of goods, and that there aren't any dangerous chemicals etc used in the materials the good is made of, such as food or childrens toys etc. If China were to have such stringent standards enforcement applied to ensuring that all exporters of textiles were abiding by Chinese laws on labour conditions (paying minimum wages and all social insurance contributions, not going over overtime limits, giving proper vacation) and environmental & health & safety management (not emitting emissions over the limits, providing masks to workers making clothing where there are chemical emissions, disposing of all waste properly), then there textile exports would not be nearly as cheap to Europe, and Europe would not currently be experiencing this influx which the European textile association is worried will put European textile companies out of business.
It is high time we westerners started to take some responsibility for our demands for low prices, then subsequent disregard for the working conditions and environmental conditions in the countries where this 'cheap' produce we love to consume comes from. At the same time, the European textile manufacturers association has a point. There is high unemployment in many European countries, and while longterm it may not be sustainable not to move much of the labour intensive production to markets with cheaper labour such as China, short term at least, it makes no sense to either Europe, or China in the longterm to have masses more European workers suddenly laid off before they have a chance to be reskilled for new jobs. It makes no sense to China as this could significantly affect European economies, and politics, causing impacts on the world, and hence Chinese economy.
What it would take to decrease Chinese exports to Europe, and the US where domestic manufacturers are also complaining about 'dumping' of Chinese textiles, would be a requirement that exporting companies from Anywhere, guarantee that they are abiding by the law. Then heavy pressure on the governments of those countries to greatly increase pressure on, and funding for their local labour and environmental offices to ensure legal compliance is being undertaken.
In China though, the conflict is that local governments are still judged largely on local GDP growth, rather than a balanced scorecard, of economic growth, with sustainable environmental and labour management. This GDP only focus though is Not sustainable. Bad labour conditions incite social unrest. People in China are increasingly aware of their rights by at a minimum Chinese labour law for minimum wages, to be paid on time, to recieve insurance, holidays, protective safety equipment, training and by law, not be able to be forced to, or have to work long hours (80+ hour weeks) for low wages. Bad environmental management is both also causing increasing criticism (of development if not the government), but more importantly, becoming incredibly expensive to China. While there are still many people that smoke cigarettes, the recent news that more people die in Chinese cities of lung cancer than anything else has been attributed by China's State Environmental Protection Bureau (SEPB) largely to China's present shockingly polluted and bad air quailty in at least 10 major cities. This week we in Beijing were warned by the SEPB not to go outdoors if we could help it on Wednesday as the air pollution was at dangerous levels.
If European and US consumers and societies are going to place such incredible demands on Chinese producers for textiles and other goods, then we have responsibility to our own societies and economies, Chinese, and other labout intensive workers, and the entire world environment (global warming from emissions increase is a shared not local problem), to ensure that at least basic laws are abided by before we demand ineffective new archaic economic short-term restrictions such as new tarriffs.
What is needed is for the textile and other western manufacturing orgnanisations to put pressure on consumers of these goods, and the companies purchasing these goods, as well as their governments to pressure China and other such producing countries to increase their funding and management of legal compliance with basic laws. Prices of Chinese goods will inevitably increase if labour and environmental laws are abided by, European goods will be more competitive with those coming from China (although there will still be increasing competition-healthy and good for all businesses and societies where there is good governance), and any inevitable decrease in competitiveness of labour intensive production in the west will be greatly slowed down giving far more time for each society to develop new economies and train people for new jobs to ensure no massive increase in unemployment and economic detriment.
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/afp/20050408/bs_afp/euchinatradetextiles_050408155430
