WASHINGTON – Sens. Lindsey Graham (R., S.C.) and Elizabeth Dole (R., N.C.) have lifted their holds on a crucial bill granting permanent normal trade relation status to Vietnam after extracting a major concession from the Bush administration to help protect the domestic textile industry against import surges and unfairly priced Vietnamese apparel and textile imports.
The Bush administration, bowing to the pressure of the two senators, has made an extraordinary commitment to self-initiate antidumping cases if a review turns up “sufficient evidence” that the price of Vietnam’s apparel and textile imports are undercutting the price of U.S. products and causing material injury to the U.S. industry.
Importers with apparel production in Vietnam were concerned about the impact of potential antidumping cases and punitive tariffs on their business. The textile industry applauded the move, saying it gave them stronger protections against a huge surge in expected imports from Vietnam.
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