Under pressure to preserve jobs, the US government's Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA) said it was re-imposing a quota on three categories of Chinese textiles.

"Today's action by CITA demonstrates this administration's commitment to levelling the playing field for US industry by enforcing our trade agreements," Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez said in a statement.

"We will consult with the Chinese to find a solution that will permit the orderly development of trade in a quota-free environment," he said.

The US government will now request formal consultations with Beijing, officials said.

But the quota will be imposed regardless by the end of May, and will last at least for the rest of this year if the consultations do not resolve the matter.

The three categories of Chinese textiles are cotton knit shirts and blouses, cotton trousers, and cotton- and man-made fibre underwear.

CITA is acting partly on its own initiative, and partly in response to complaints from US textile manufacturers that Chinese imports have shot up since global quotas that regulated the trade were scrapped on January 1.

After joining the World Trade Organisation in 2001, China agreed to let WTO members restrict its exports of clothing and textiles through 2008 if a sudden surge in shipments threatened to disrupt their markets.

Under the WTO accession accord, Washington may limit growth in Chinese imports to 7.5 percent through 2008.

The action comes just six weeks after the US government launched a probe into the main categories of Chinese textile goods that have surged since the 31-year-old global quota system ended.

The US investigation has coincided with a parallel probe by the European Union into nine categories of Chinese textile imports which may lead to restrictions being enforced.