Mark
20-12-05, 05:02
Africa fears ‘tsunami’ of cheap Chinese imports
Web posted at: 12/19/2005 2:32:46
Source ::: Reuters
JOHANNESBURG: South Africa’s union federation COSATU planned to use a rally marking its 20th birthday earlier this month to promote a “buy local” campaign.
But as some 20,000 unionists marched and chanted “Proudly South African” slogans in a Durban stadium, word went round that the bright red T-shirts each wore were made in China.
Thousands of noisy members of the SACTWU textile union, which is spearheading a campaign against a flood of cheap Chinese textile imports, removed the shirts and hurled them into a pile in the middle of the stadium.
“People’s reaction to those T-shirts is a clear indication that they’ve had enough of these cheap products from abroad,” SACTWU President John Zikhali told Reuters later.
“South African retailers need to come to the party and buy products that are made here because we cannot afford to lose any more jobs,” Zikhali said.
From South Africa to Lesotho, to Zambia and Nigeria anger is mounting over what one union leader called “a tsunami of cheap Chinese goods” that many say is choking off local industries and wiping out jobs.
Leonard Hikaumba, president of the Zambian Congress of Trade Unions, bemoaned what he called the dumping of cheap textiles and electronics goods by Chinese exporters.
“The beneficiaries of these are the exporters, not us,” he said. In no sector is this more critical than in textiles, one of the first industries that took root as many sub-Saharan African countries became independent in the 1960s.
The Textile, Garments and Tailoring Senior Staff Association of Nigeria estimates some 350,000 jobs had been lost directly as a result of Chinese competition and 1.5 million indirectly after more than 50 textile industries were forced to shut down over the past five years.
“Most warehouses in Lagos have been converted to churches because there are no manufactured goods to warehouse,” the union’s secretary-general, Issah Aremu, said.
The South African textile union estimates 800 manufacturing units and 60,000 jobs have disappeared in the country since 2001 as a result of what it calls unfair competition from China. “It’s not just about South Africa, the whole continent is concerned, the whole world is beginning to suffer,” said the union’s Zikhali.
China’s surging economy and manufacturing muscle have confounded even economic superpowers like the United States. Washington has found no easy barrier against a flood of Chinese textiles since WTO quotas on Chinese imports lapsed earlier this year.
Pretoria has imposed anti-dumping duties on a number of Chinese products such as face cloths, door locks and handles, and blankets.
But some analysts called these token measures, perhaps reflecting a desire by South Africa not to antagonise the giant Asian economy that is growing in leaps and bounds.
Chinese diplomats in Africa are quick to note that their country is becoming a major source of direct foreign investment for the continent. Analysts say these are increasingly to extract minerals to fuel China’s awesome growth. In 2004, China exported goods to Africa worth a total of $13.82bn, against imports from Africa of $15.65bn.
China imports mainly raw materials, with hardly any added value for industrial growth in the African countries.
Web posted at: 12/19/2005 2:32:46
Source ::: Reuters
JOHANNESBURG: South Africa’s union federation COSATU planned to use a rally marking its 20th birthday earlier this month to promote a “buy local” campaign.
But as some 20,000 unionists marched and chanted “Proudly South African” slogans in a Durban stadium, word went round that the bright red T-shirts each wore were made in China.
Thousands of noisy members of the SACTWU textile union, which is spearheading a campaign against a flood of cheap Chinese textile imports, removed the shirts and hurled them into a pile in the middle of the stadium.
“People’s reaction to those T-shirts is a clear indication that they’ve had enough of these cheap products from abroad,” SACTWU President John Zikhali told Reuters later.
“South African retailers need to come to the party and buy products that are made here because we cannot afford to lose any more jobs,” Zikhali said.
From South Africa to Lesotho, to Zambia and Nigeria anger is mounting over what one union leader called “a tsunami of cheap Chinese goods” that many say is choking off local industries and wiping out jobs.
Leonard Hikaumba, president of the Zambian Congress of Trade Unions, bemoaned what he called the dumping of cheap textiles and electronics goods by Chinese exporters.
“The beneficiaries of these are the exporters, not us,” he said. In no sector is this more critical than in textiles, one of the first industries that took root as many sub-Saharan African countries became independent in the 1960s.
The Textile, Garments and Tailoring Senior Staff Association of Nigeria estimates some 350,000 jobs had been lost directly as a result of Chinese competition and 1.5 million indirectly after more than 50 textile industries were forced to shut down over the past five years.
“Most warehouses in Lagos have been converted to churches because there are no manufactured goods to warehouse,” the union’s secretary-general, Issah Aremu, said.
The South African textile union estimates 800 manufacturing units and 60,000 jobs have disappeared in the country since 2001 as a result of what it calls unfair competition from China. “It’s not just about South Africa, the whole continent is concerned, the whole world is beginning to suffer,” said the union’s Zikhali.
China’s surging economy and manufacturing muscle have confounded even economic superpowers like the United States. Washington has found no easy barrier against a flood of Chinese textiles since WTO quotas on Chinese imports lapsed earlier this year.
Pretoria has imposed anti-dumping duties on a number of Chinese products such as face cloths, door locks and handles, and blankets.
But some analysts called these token measures, perhaps reflecting a desire by South Africa not to antagonise the giant Asian economy that is growing in leaps and bounds.
Chinese diplomats in Africa are quick to note that their country is becoming a major source of direct foreign investment for the continent. Analysts say these are increasingly to extract minerals to fuel China’s awesome growth. In 2004, China exported goods to Africa worth a total of $13.82bn, against imports from Africa of $15.65bn.
China imports mainly raw materials, with hardly any added value for industrial growth in the African countries.