Hold on to your shorts. They're about to become a lot more expensive.
Showing a remarkable talent for talking out of both sides of his mouth -- and in two languages, no less -- Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez is following up a whirlwind tour touting the benefits of the proposed Central American Free Trade Agreement by announcing that the U.S. would be slapping new quotas on Chinese textile imports due to "disruption" in the market for "cotton knit shirts and blouses, cotton trousers, and cotton and man-made fiber underwear."
I know what you're thinking, but no, the disruption actually had nothing to do with those terminally creepy Old Navy commercials. Apparently, the Chinese clothes were just too good, too cheap, and people were just buying too gosh-darned many of them. Or, as Gutierrez oh-so-eloquently put it:
“Today CITA announced its decision to invoke textile safeguards based on market disruption and threat of market disruption due to the magnitude of increases in textile imports from China and China’s significant capacity to increase production and exports to the United States in these product categories,” said Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez. “Today’s action by CITA demonstrates this Administration’s commitment to leveling the playing field for U.S. industry by enforcing our trade agreements. We will consult with the Chinese to find a solution that will permit the orderly development of trade in a quota free environment.”
Was that Spanish? Maybe it was Mandarin. It certainly doesn't qualify as English. The "orderly development of trade in a quota free environment?" What the funk is that?
So quotas are bad? Then why are we imposing them? Or is it that trade is bad? So then why were you just praising it to high heaven just....why, just yesterday, as a matter of fact?
And why are we calling these things "free" trade agreements, and then complaining when the result is not "orderly"? As opposed to "disorderly" freedom? Is there any other kind?
Or is it just that trade is ok when it means cheap Dominican sugar for Kellogg's, where Senor Gutierrez used to be chairman and CEO, but when it threatens to turn off the spigot of campaign contributions from the textile industry....not so much.
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