Chinese textile exporters may face uncertainty in 2007 as trade agreements on textiles reach their final years, according to the national industrial association.

The US and the EU have indicated they intend to restrict China's textile exports through anti-dumping or anti-subsidy investigations when current agreements expire at the end of this year and the end of 2008.

"If they launch investigations and slap tariffs on Chinese textiles, it will greatly affect Chinese market share in the US and EU," said an unnamed official with the China chamber of commerce for import and export of textiles.

He added that regulations by the European Commission banning the use of certain chemicals in manufacturing will also become a challenge for Chinese manufacturers.

The official added that China's textile trade is still expected to see double-digit growth this year.

In the first 11 months of 2006, China's textile and apparel trade totaled US$147 billion, up 22.2 percent from a year earlier, according to statistics from the General Administration of Customs. Textile sector was still the main source of China's widening trade surplus, with textiles and apparel accounting for a surplus of US$114.2 billion, or 72.9 percent of the total surplus in manufactured goods.

(China Daily January 17, 2007)