But Remember, It's the Democrats Who Are Anti-Globalization

LONDON, Nov. 8 - Moving to control surging imports of clothes from Asia, the United States signed an agreement with China here today placing quotas on items including cheap shirts and trousers over the next three years.

The deal raised the volumes of clothing that the United States would accept from China when compared with previous arrangements, but it placed limits on those volumes and included a wider range of products than those already subject to restrictions.

The United States trade representative, Rob Portman, said that the deal was "fair to our retailers and our consumers" and that it pointed the way forward for resolving future trade disputes with the Chinese. The agreement also solves a major point of contention between the two countries less than two weeks before President Bush travels to China.

Steel, Lumber, Clothing, Food - is there anything the GOP won't tax or limit?

This hurts China - the EU will almost certainly follow up with quotas of their own, if they haven't already - and it hurts US consumers, who'll now have to pay more for their clothes. Meanwhile, it benefits only a few dwindling textile mills in the South at the expense of the broad base of the population. Brilliant policy, Republican-style.

This move, by the way, puts Bush in the same league as the much reviled Jacques Chirac when it comes to Chinese textiles. Good company - both leaders are inept, unpopular, and may only narrowly avoid prosecution when they leave office.