WASHINGTON, Jan 1: A special US trade court has frozen efforts to limit Chinese textile imports as import quotas under global trade rules expired.

An injunction issued late Thursday by the US Court of International Trade halted consideration by the US administration of petitions from the US textile industry, which fears the impact of a likely flood of "Made in China" garments.

The ruling leaves the door open to an unchecked increase in Chinese goods with the expiration of quotas on January 1.

The US Association of Importers of Textiles and Apparel filed the court action in an effort to head off a possible decision by the US government to cap Chinese imports under a provision in China's World Trade Organization accession agreement.

The association, which represents major US retailers, has argued there was no specific threat to US industry and that freer trade would benefit American consumers.

Judge Richard Goldberg ruled that the retailer could suffer "irreparable damage" from any import limits that might disrupt the supply chain.

"An injunction will preserve plaintiff's rights until the merits and the issue of compliance with the law are fully considered," the judge said. "It will provide interim relief until those doubts that have been raised are eliminated."

But the American Manufacturing Trade Action Coalition (AMTAC), which represents US textile makers, said the judge's decision if upheld could end up causing enormous damage to American industry, which would be at a severe disadvantage to low-cost Chinese makers.

"AMTAC believes that the safeguard process was wrongly enjoined and that it is imperative that the US government appeal this flawed decision as soon as possible," the group said in a statement Friday.

"AMTAC hopes that the appellate process be expeditious so that the US government's consideration of the threat-based petitions already filed will not be delayed. This ruling could open the door to allowing China to gain a monopoly share of the US textile and apparel market in short order, threatening the economic livelihood of nearly 700,000 US textile and apparel manufacturing workers in the United States."

The end of the quotas, enshrined in the 1974 Multifibre Arrangement and later in the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Textiles and Clothing, was expected to have a major impact not only on wealthier nations that import goods, but on on other developing countries that may lose market share to China.

The ruling dashes hopes for an immediate move by Washington to allow for only gradual increases in Chinese imports.

According to the accession arrangement, a WTO member can carry on limiting Chinese textile imports if they may cause "market disruptions" or threaten to impede "the orderly development of trade."

On the other hand, In Beijing, China enacted 88 new laws on the first day of the New Year that cover a wide range of areas including foreign trade, taxation, advertising standards and supervision of the military, state press said.

As part of China's accession to the World Trade Organization (WTO), seven laws and regulations took effect on January 1 that lift some restrictions on auto imports and foreign participation in gasoline sales, auctions and insurance, Xinhua news agency said.

The new laws will formally cancel China's auto import quota and allow private and foreign companies to set up petrol stations in China in accordance with China's WTO accession commitments, it said.

A government decree on the import and export of goods also goes into effect Saturday that will bring China's definition of countries or regions of origin of goods in line with WTO standards, the China Daily said.-AFP