Today, Chinese trade officials accused Washington of acting before it had fully consulted them and of acting without clear evidence, itself a violation of the bilateral textile agreement.

Two days of talks here have failed to make any progress toward a textile agreement that could cut an estimated $2 billion in Chinese exports to the United States.

The sanctions imposed by both countries were lifted when the two nations concluded their first major textile agreement in July of that year.

In December, the Bush Administration stopped aid, and canceled trade privileges and a textile agreement.

In 2003, the two countries signed a Counternarcotics Letter of Agreement (amended in 2006), a Civil Aviation Agreement, and a textile agreement.

Washington's main concern, he said, is the effectiveness of a bilateral textile agreement with China that was renewed in January for four years.

As Chief Textile Negotiator, Commissioner Hillman was responsible for negotiating bilateral textile agreements with 38 countries in 1993-1994.

Under the new textile agreement, the Mexican import quota would rise by 6 percent a year for the next four years.

China and the United States reached an 11th-hour textile agreement today, averting a major trade clash about the $7.3 billion in Chinese textiles sold in the American market each year.

The next item is a statement by the Commission on the future of the textile agreement in WTO negotiations.