This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PRETORIA 000678 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EB/TPP/ABT/EHEARTNEY, AF/EPS, AF/S 
COMMERCE FOR ITA/OTEXA/MD'ANDREA 
COMMERCE ALSO FOR 4510/ITA/IEP/ANESA/OA/JDIEMOND 
DEPT PASS USTR FOR PCOLEMAN AND AHEYLIGER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ETRD ECON KTEX SF CH
SUBJECT: SOUTH AFRICA AND CHINA DISCUSS VOLUNTARY 
RESTRAINTS ON APPAREL AND TEXTILE TRADE 
 
REF: 05 PRETORIA 4752 
 
¶1. (U) Summary.  The South African Government has 
raised the problem of inexpensive textile and apparel 
imports with China.  On January 19, the Chinese 
Ambassador to South Africa announced that China would 
limit the export of apparel and some textile items to 
South Africa.  On February 3, President Mbeki stated 
in his State of the Nation address to Parliament that 
an agreement with China had already been reached. 
Later in a media briefing, however, the Minister of 
Trade and Industry admitted that there was no formal 
agreement because the details still needed to be 
worked out.  The South African clothing and textile 
industry has not been included in the negotiations. 
End summary. 
 
Chinese Imports 
--------------- 
 
¶2. (U) Imports currently account for 27% of the 
clothing market and 32% of the textiles market in 
South Africa.  Of this, China supplies more than 
three-fourths of the clothing but less than one- 
fourth of the textiles.  The following table shows 
China's share of the South African import market for 
apparel and textiles. 
 
             Chinese Import Market Share 
             of the South African Market 
 
                                      % of total 
                                        imports 
Apparel: 
       Volume: 367 million units          87% 
       Value:  $531 million*              75% 
 
Textiles: 
        Volume: 70,351 ton                22% 
        Value:  $231 million*             24% 
 
 
Source: The Textile Federation of South Africa 
(Texfed) for the period January 2005 to November 
¶2005. 
 
*Note: Assuming a rand/dollar exchange rate of 6.35. 
 
¶3. (U) South African textile and apparel companies 
have applied for safeguard protection, but the South 
African Government has been sitting on the 
applications while it tries to negotiate a solution 
directly with China (reftel). 
 
Chinese Announcement 
-------------------- 
 
¶4. (U) On January 19, the Chinese Ambassador to South 
Africa Liu Guijin announced that China would limit 
the export of garments and some textile items to 
South Africa.  He added that China would help retrain 
South African clothing and textile workers who lost 
their jobs, and that Chinese firms would be 
encouraged to form partnerships with local firms to 
make South African industry more competitive. 
 
State of the Nation 
------------------- 
 
¶5. (U) On February 3, President Mbeki announced in 
his State of the Nation address to Parliament that 
the South African Government had reached agreement 
with China that would protect the South African 
clothing and textile sector.  Later in a media 
briefing at Parliament, however, the Minister of 
Trade and Industry Mandisi Mpahlwa admitted that no 
formal agreement existed; the details still needed to 
be worked out. 
 
Industry's View 
--------------- 
 
¶6. (U) The South African clothing and textile 
industry is in the dark on negotiations with the 
Chinese.   Industry representatives have been unable 
to get any information on the matter from the 
Department of Trade and Industry, but believe talks 
on voluntary restraints revolve around quotas on 
exports to South Africa and restrictions on export 
increases in certain categories. 
 
 
TEITELBAUM