Management and employees of the São Paulo textile industry, which represents 40% of domestic production, are demanding urgent action by the government to protect them from an onslaught of Chinese goods.
The president of the textile workers union, Sergio Marques, reports that management and employees have formed a commission to demand the rapid placement of safeguards.
Marques said the idea was not to close the borders, but to level the playing field so “there can be loyal competition.”
He admitted that Chinese goods could no longer be dismissed as inferior. “Nowadays Chinese products are as good as ours. They have made enormous investments in their industry. But their advances have come at a cost to the workers who are exploited, working long hours without rest periods or vacations,” he said.
Meanwhile the head of the textile trade association, Rafael Cervone, criticized the government for not moving faster.
“China is now a member of the World Trade Organization which has norms that permit safeguards. There is no reason for not doing this quickly,” he said.
ABr