World trade unions oppose WTO move

textiles and clothing should be excluded from NAMA

INFORMAL negotiations aimed at securing zero tariffs in a series of sectors under the Non-Agricultural Market Access (NAMA) provisions of the WTO threaten the future of the textile and clothing industry in some of the world's poorest developing nations.

Such informal negotiations are currently under way in a number of sectors including textiles and clothing, footwear and sporting goods. However, it is textiles and clothing which are causing most alarm.

Speaking in Hong Kong today, General Secretary of the International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers' Federation (ITGLWF) Neil Kearney said across the board tariff reductions, particularly to zero, would have a devastating impact on the poorest and least-developed exporting countries already reeling from trade liberalisation with the ending of the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing at the beginning of 2005.

Said Kearney: "Textile and clothing production in the least-developed countries is largely for export and many such countries have zero-tariff access to key export markets.

Tariff reductions there -especially to zero- would destroy the current small advantage the poorest countries enjoy in such markets and would render their exports uncompetitive alongside for example those from China. In addition it is likely that China would flood their domestic markets.

"The demands for the exclusion of textiles and clothing from the NAMA negotiations being made by such countries is entirely justified.

There is little enough development aspects left in the Doha Round without embarking on a further series of measures which would destroy the manufacturing industry and the economies of some of the least developed nations", Kearney said.

The International Textile, Garment and Leather Workers' Federation is a global union federation bringing together 220 affiliated organisations in 110 countries with a combined membership of 10 million workers.

(Global Unions)