Textile Wars

On January 1, 2005, the World Trade Organization is set to lift quotas on textile production. China's share of the U.S. textile market has risen from 9 percent to 72 percent in the past 2 years.

There are moves to try and level the trade playing field before the WTO quota system expires. The Bush administration has enacted temporary barriers to Chinese textiles entering the American market. China has responded to international pressure by putting tariffs on its own exports.

Hear a discussion about what effect WTO's lifting of quotas of textile production will have on the U.S. market and its future.

Guests:

Robert Friedman, international editor for Fortune magazine;

Ron Sorini, president of trade negotiations and legislative affairs at the law firm Sandler, Travis and Rosenberg;

Mark Levinson, chief economist for the labor group UNITE HERE;

Brenda Jacobs, Washington trade counsel for the U.S. Association of Importers of Textiles and Apparel;

Lloyd Wood, director of the American Manufacturing Trade Action Coalition.