U.S.-China: clothing imports and currency markets

The U.S. has stepped up trade pressure on China, announcing a new range of restrictions on Chinese-made clothing and &to=http:// english.pravda.ru/economics/ ' target=_blank>textile imports -- the second such move within a week.

The limits come a day after the U.S. Treasury pointedly called for &to=http:// english.pravda.ru/columnists/2002/11/26/39994.html ' target=_blank>Beijing to allow a revaluing upwards of its currency, the yuan, which the U.S. says is giving an unfair advantage to Chinese manufacturers.

Chinese clothing imports, including man-made fiber shirts and blouses, will now be subject to quota limits, according to a U.S. Commerce Department release.

Last Friday the department put quotas on cotton trousers and knit-shirts and a range of underwear, reports CNN News.

U.S. Treasury Secretary &to=http:// english.pravda.ru/mailbox/22/101/399/15397_debt.html ' target=_blank>John Snow said he held off labeling China as a currency manipulator yesterday to keep at bay the "furies" of Congress. Snow said he expected China to move toward a more flexible exchange rate within a "few months."

Snow is trying to calm rising political pressure to punish China for what some U.S. lawmakers and manufacturers say are unfair economic policies that have led to a record trade deficit and the loss of 1.1 million manufacturing jobs over the past three years.