International Trade committee  If the trade minister wanted to send a letter today, that would immediately start the process. It's from that point forth that the numbers would be calculated--from today, if he sends a letter. That would be when the lift of the imports and what they can increase by would start.

International Trade committee  If you did the math on that, sure. My math skills aren't always that great.

International Trade committee  I have returned to working for this union after about six or seven years. I have been back working for UNITE HERE for three and a half months. In that time, we've had two plant closures. One has basically just been announced, and we're probably looking at 400 or 500 workers. That's just in the time that I have been here.

International Trade committee  What happens afterwards, in 2008? Again, because this is a negotiated process, it's possible that we could negotiate agreements with China after that. It's a consideration. There are different provisions—I'm not extraordinarily well versed on them—in the U.S. and EU agreements to potentially keep some categories going after the 2008 end of the marker of the WTO-sanctioned safeguard measures.

International Trade committee  I'm sorry.

International Trade committee  If we go to negotiate safeguards today, it's not going to roll back things. It would put in protection on the current import levels from China and allow it to go up by 7.5%. Fundamentally, that is the regime, so I'm not sure it would impact anything differently from what it is today, because it's—

International Trade committee  I'm sorry, let me go back. If safeguards were negotiated today, it can't really reverse the damage that's already been done. What it can do is restrict the increases to 7.5% for the next two years of imports from China in these specific categories. So it wouldn't fundamentally change it.

International Trade committee  I will absolutely look into that with our counsel.

International Trade committee  Yes. That's because we had a policy of attempting to trade with less-developed nations, frankly as a way to assist developing nations. The garment and apparel industry has always been a real foundation for developing economies. There's an easy entry point; it is not highly costly capital investment to get into it.

International Trade committee  I'm not sure. I would be surprised that the tribunal did not receive that either, so I'd have to check back with our counsel on the matter as well. But I'd be happy to provide them to you.

International Trade committee  I brought a pack, just in case. There are a number of different types of manufacturers, a variety of employers. In fact, a uniform manufacturer that makes things like the TTC workers' clothes and the Air Canada pilots' clothes is one of them. There are a variety of employers, but all within these industries.

International Trade committee  You know, yes. The decision came down at about 4:30 before Thanksgiving in October, and that was one of the things that were considered. The fact of the matter is, though, that even with a CITT recommendation of an inquiry, it would have to be the trade minister who would initiate the negotiations.

International Trade committee  I'll try. The numbers are complicated.

International Trade committee  Yes. I should say, though, that safeguards are a WTO-sanctioned part of the China accession policy. It's hard to even really think of something sort of protectionist, which is often seen as a leftist ideology, to be something that George Bush's government negotiated, but they did.

International Trade committee  I actually don't know the full set of categories.