The View From Asia

Abstract

Among the various agreements negotiated under the Uruguay Round trade negotiation, the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC) is of the greatest interest to the Asian less developed countries (LDCs). This is mainly because of the importance of textiles and clothing (T&C) in their economies. The Asian LDCs currently account for about 42 per cent of the global trade in textiles and over 45 per cent of global trade in clothing. More importantly, T&C constitute the single most important export items of many Asian LDCs. Currently, the Multifibre Arrangement (MFA) restricts approximately 50 per cent of global trade in T&C through approximately 3000 bilateral quotas, distinguished by countries and products. The ATC provides for a gradual phase-out of the import quotas under the MFA, and seeks to return the T&C trade to the full discipline of the World Trade Organization (WTO).