HANOI—The U.S., aiming to bolster American exporters, is stipulating that countries joining its new Pacific trade zone cut back on imports from China—a proposal that is meeting resistance from businesses and officials who say it will disrupt global supply chains.
The Senate is expected to pass on Wednesday legislation to expand President Barack Obama ’s trade-negotiating powers after a bruising battle that has put pressure on proponents to show that the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership will create jobs in the U.S.
To that end, American trade negotiators are demanding that Vietnam, a major garments exporter, reduce its reliance on textiles made in China, which isn’t part of the trade pact, to get preferential market access to the U.S.
The goal is to create new markets in Vietnam for the U.S. textile industry, which employs a quarter of a million Americans and exported $20 billion last year.
“The U.S. and Mexico are especially large textile producers,” said Eliza Levy, a spokeswoman for the National Council of Textile Organizations. “Vietnam would simply have to shift its sourcing of yarns and fabrics from China to the U.S. and Mexico.”