Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2009-02-02-Speech-1-097"
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"en.20090202.15.1-097"2
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"Commissioner, you said a moment ago that, in overall terms, the situation with textile imports from China in 2008 turned out better than expected. I feel duty bound to vigorously contradict your statement, as the figures paint a completely different picture.
In fact, last year textile imports from China went through the roof. There is no doubt that if we look at T-shirts, trousers, dresses and pullovers, in other words the vulnerable product categories, there has been a near doubling of imports in the space of just one year, and that is clearly a cause for great concern. It means that the surveillance system we have had in place all this time is not working. As we all know, the double-checking system is no longer in operation. This situation, Lady Ashton, is untenable because there are no real sanctions we can apply; we have no clout.
As the previous speaker said, the figures also show that there is something fundamentally wrong with the prices of these massive imports of Chinese textiles. Prices have dropped by nearly a third and this drop cannot be attributed to exchange rate differences alone. Moreover, Commissioner, the production costs in China have risen sharply again over the past year, which suggests that these prices are practically dumping prices. We are counting on you not to let this simply pass unchallenged. As stated by Mrs Wortmann-Kool earlier, 350 000 jobs have been lost over the past two years. To a large extent, this is the result of unfair competition and we need to formulate a response to this situation.
That is not the only matter of concern, Commissioner. As you know, credit insurance is much harder to obtain in the current climate, and this is having a direct, pernicious effect on exports. The French Government has already developed a system of additional credit insurance for the clothing and textile sector. It would be worth considering whether we could recommend this system and streamline it further at European level. I am not suggesting harmonisation, but that we attempt to put initiatives in place at European level to promote the French system to some degree. Can you give us a commitment that, using the powers at your disposal, you will implement initiatives in this respect? These initiatives do not have to cost anything. It is simply a matter of political will and coordination."@en1
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