Liberalize quota of textile, U.S., EU told

GENEVA (AFP): Twenty-four major textile exporting developing countries have urged ministers from the US, European Union and Canada to take more concrete action to liberalize quotas in the sector, the group said here Tuesday.

The European Union, United States and Canada agreed under the Uruguay Round of trade liberalization talks which ended in 1994 to progressively phase out quotas on imports of textiles and clothing from developing countries, the International Textiles and Clothing Bureau (ITCB) said in a press release.

But few restrictions have so far been lifted and in failing to live up to developing countries' "legitimate expectations", this has damaged their confidence in the World Trade Organization (WTO) system, the ITCB said.

"After 40 years of restrictions, the case for some immediate and concrete steps towards meaningful liberalization is overwhelming," Hong Kong's representative to the WTO Stuart Harbinson said on behalf of the ITCB in a letter to European Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy.

"Besides assisting developing countries, this would bring huge benefits for businesses and consumers in the restraining countries themselves," he added.

In letters to Lamy, as well as Canadian Minister for International Trade Pierre Pettigrew and US Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky, the ITCB challenges developed countries to speed up the process.

The ITCB proposes that at least 50 percent of imports of products under specific quota restriction be liberalized by January 2002. Textiles and clothing for developing countries account for about 20 percent of their exports of manufactured products.

During a review of its trade policies at the WTO here last week, the EU came in for criticism over holding back on market access for clothing and textiles.