RI to host int'l textile conference

RI to host int'l textile conference

Zakki P. Hakim, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Textile and clothing producer countries from the developing world
will meet in Bali in the first week of April to discuss trade
after the elimination of the quota system, a senior official at
the Ministry of Trade said on Wednesday.

The ministry's Director General for International Cooperation
Pos M. Hutabarat said Indonesia would host the 41st International
Textile and Clothing Bureau (ITCB) council of representatives
meeting.

Established in 1984, ITCB is a group of governments from
developing countries that produce and export textiles and
clothing.

"During the conference, country members will evaluate the
global textile and clothing trade in a world without quota
restrictions," he told reporters.

Pos said the ITCB would monitor trade barriers -- tariff and
non-tariff -- imposed by industrialized countries and ensure that
developing countries received non-discriminatory treatment.

Moreover, the ITCB would encourage and facilitate country
members to outsource raw materials such as yarn and fabrics from
each other, thus reducing capital goods dependency on the
developed nations, he said.

The meeting is expected to come up with a communique as a
basis for ITCB's future policies.

ITCB members are Argentina, Bangladesh, Brazil, China,
Colombia, Costa Rica, South Korea, Egypt, El Salvador, Guatemala,
Honduras, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, North Korea, Macao, the
Maldives, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Uruguay
and Vietnam.