Agreement On Textiles And Clothing Research Articles

Exploring ‘Employee Voice’ of Informal Female Workers of the Textiles Industry in Pakistan: A Grounded Theory Approach

Firm restructuring and labour subcontracting has paved the way for the rise of informalisation in the female-dominated textiles industry of Pakistan after the expiry of the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC). Despite the emergence of low quality of employment available for women in the informal economy, there is a dearth of knowledge on their position at the workplace, namely ‘employee voice.’ This study therefore explores the employee voice of informal female workers of the stitching and ginning sections of the textiles industry in Pakistan in the post ATC period. A grounded theory approach, involving 25 in-depth interviews with informal female workers and employers, is used to explore employer-employee interactions. The findings reveal that the core requirements of the ‘capability for voice’ of informal female workers centre on ‘decisions of employers’, ‘bearing of tradition’ and ‘worker performance’. The grounded theory clarifies the procedure and identifies the interaction of the above categories to form the contextual conditions that direct the expectations of employers and female workers in the informal labour market. The expectations of a ‘perfect fit’ of informal female workers, within the hierarchy of the textiles industry, gives rise to a situation of ‘tolerance/no voice’, despite the negative workplace culture. The findings indicate that strategies to advance gender equality in Pakistan must consider informalisation of the labour market through a gender perspective.

Impact of the ATC on the performance and productivity of Indian apparel manufacturing

PurposeThis paper aims to study the productivity growth in the Indian apparel industry in aggregate over the period 1995–2015 and compare the performance of the Indian apparel industry during the decade of the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC) and the decade post its expiry.Design/methodology/approachThe aggregate productivity performance has been studied using the technique of growth accounting and the translog index. A comparison of industry performance has also been made by analysing data. The data has been collated from Annual Survey of Industries reports, CMIE Economic Outlook and CMIE Industry Outlook databases.FindingsThe apparel industry has seen significant growth in terms of all industry variables and exports. However, the growth in exports is much lower than the growth in other industry variables related to output and input. While there is productivity improvement in aggregate over the study period, the quantum is low. Total factor productivity growth is positive and higher for the period post the ATC.Originality/valueTo the best of the author’s knowledge, there has been no such recent study comparing performance and productivity in Indian apparel manufacturing during and after the expiry of the ATC.

Fim da proteção do comércio bilateral brasileiro no setor têxtil e de confecções

Este artigo teve como objetivo analisar os efeitos do fim da proteção comercial internacional do setor (ATV) sobre o comércio bilateral do Brasil com seus parceiros importadores no período de 1997-2017. Para este fim foi utilizado o modelo gravitacional. Este estudo mostra que, mesmo com a falta de competitividade do Brasil no setor têxtil e de confecções, o fim do acordo sobre têxteis e vestuário (ATV) impactou positivamente o fluxo de comércio do país com seus parceiros comerciais. Conclui-se que o conhecimento das vantagens de um ambiente de comércio amplamente competitivo é vital para se avaliar políticas para melhor inserção do setor têxtil e de confecções no comércio internacional.

Does the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) impact EU-15 imports from Africa?

PurposeAt the heart of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) are substantial trade preferences, which coupled with the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) grant a wide range of goods produced in qualified African countries duty-free access to the USA. To be AGOA-eligible, countries are assessed annually on their progress in undertaking appropriate economic, institutional and human rights reforms. This paper seeks to cover new grounds by exploring whether exports of apparel to US crowds out EU-15's imports from Africa.Design/methodology/approachThis paper employs the gravity model to gauge trade displacement effects from the EU to the US due to AGOA, and whether the more relaxed special waiver embodied in AGOA's apparel provision causes non-knitted exports to EU-15 to be crowded out. The basic gravity model, which posits that trade between two countries is positively influenced by the economic size and negatively affected by the distance between them, is augmented with other trade inhibiting and trade facilitating variables.FindingsThe gravity model provides no evidence of trade displacement but, instead, provides support for the hypothesis of complementarity of African exports to the two key markets. A strong positive impact of the bilateral trade between the US and Africa on the EU–African trade is evident mainly before the phasing out of the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC). This paper finds that Special Rule beneficiaries' exports to the two markets still complement each other, but for every percentage increase in exports to the USA, there is a less than proportionate increase in exports to EU-15 indicating a higher utilisation of the special waiver. This paper also provides evidence for complementary apparel exports to both LDCs (least developing countries) and non-LDCs, with stronger effects on non-LDCs and the non-knitted sector.Research limitations/implicationsFuture work could consider the longer lifespan of AGOA following its latest renewal in 2015. This would allow one to also capture the ongoing changes in EU trade arrangements in particular implementation of Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs). This new agreement comes with more flexible rules of origin requiring single transformation step instead of the double step. As most African nations are still in the process of adopting EPAs, new research can shed more light on complementary or displacement effects once these agreements are adopted.Originality/valueSince the main intent of AGOA is to enhance Africa's integration into the global economy by encouraging trade and investment, generate employment and increase productivity and per capita income growth, its impact on Special Rule beneficiaries' exports to the US has been extensively examined. However, the indirect effects of this trade agreement on African exports to other key markets providing similar preferences such as the EU has not been fully explored. This study also covers new grounds by examining whether there has been any apparel trade displacement from the EU to the US, as a result of the Act, over 2001–2016 period right from AGOA's inception.

Productivity of Indian Textile Industry in the Post Multi Fibre Agreement (MFA) Regime

The system of bilateral quotas which had governed the international trade in textiles and clothing under the Multi Fibre Agreement came to an end and has been replaced by the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC) from January 1, 2005. The ATC provided for a progressive elimination of quota in four stages during the transitional period which ended on 2005. This study is an attempt to understand the impact of trade liberalization on the productivity of Indian textile industry. Estimation of labour productivity shows an improvement in the labour productivity during the post MFA period. Analysis of capital productivity reveals that average capital productivity was higher during the pre MFA period compared to post MFA period. Capital intensity estimate reveals that there has been an increase in the capital intensity for all product groups in the post MFA period compared to pre MFA.

India’s Experience with the WTO Agreement on Textiles and Clothing

Trade in textiles was long regulated outside the rules of multilateral trade leading to advantages for some and disadvantages for others. The Uruguay Round (UR) recognized the need for coverage of the textiles sector by the rules of multilateral trade and the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC) was negotiated for this purpose. This article will focus on the laws used to exclude the textiles sector from multilateral trade before the WTO and the regulation of this sector after the UR as well as the experience of India with the ATC.

The Evolution of Cotton Trade and Its Impact on African Countries Under W.T.O Law

Cotton has been at the centre of international trade from the beginning of the industrial revolution and has played a fundamental role in the development of many countries. This is because cotton is the raw material for textiles which are a fundamental human need. Cotton also serves as a means of livelihood for millions of people around the world who grow it as a cash crop or work in the textile industry. As a cash crop, it serves as an important source of revenue for many governments. From the outset, it is important to state that cotton in international trade can be categorised either as an agricultural product, a textile product or as any other good/commodity. This classification is important because: (a) as an agricultural product, trade in cotton would be subject to the Agreement on Agriculture which applies to ‘agricultural products’ as listed in Annex 1 of the agreement. Under Annex 1, ‘raw cotton, waste and cotton carded or combed’ (under HS headings 52.01 to 52. 03) are listed as agricultural products and therefore under the scope of the Agreement; (b) as a textile product, trade in cotton was also affected/regulated by the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC). In fact article 1.4 expressly stated that: ‘... the particular interests of cotton-producing exporting members should ... be reflected in the implementation of the provisions of this agreement’. This agreement terminated after the 10th year that the WTO was in force (2005), none-the-less its inclusion of cotton and cotton products such as cotton yarn under an annex of textile product goes to show that indeed trade in cotton was regulated under the ATC as well; (c) as any other good or commodity, cotton is subject to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, the Agreement on subsidies and any other agreement regulating trade in goods. In my submission I will consider cotton as first a good/commodity like any other under the GATT and as an agricultural product and finally as a ‘textile’. It has been shown that in the ATC, cotton yarn was considered as a textile. Additionally under the 1973 Arrangement regarding international Trade in Textiles (commonly referred to as MFA), the expression ‘textiles’ was defined in article 12 to include ‘yarns’. A similar definition is given for ‘cotton textiles’ under article 9 of The Long Term Arrangement regarding Trade in Cotton textiles (‘LTA’). Finally, According to the Oxford English dictionary, the word ‘textile’ means inter alia, ‘... fibrous material such as flax, cotton or silk’.

The Spanish Textile Industry Sans ATC Quota Protection

The Spanish textile and apparel manufacturing sectors have been badly impacted by the global recession as well as the removal of quotas that were in place with the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC). This study employs a cost function to investigate the presence of scale economies and the interrelationships among inputs of domestic capital, labor, and intermediate goods as well as outsourced (imported) intermediate products for the Spanish textile industry in a global environment that has become increasingly competitive. While there is evidence of scale economies at low output levels, there is also some evidence consistent with diseconomies of scale at the highest output levels. All of the inputs appear to be substitutes for one another except for domestic capital and outsourced intermediate goods. An important finding is that the demands for both labor and domestic intermediate goods have become increasingly sensitive to the prices of outsourced inputs. The estimated coefficients of dummy variables indicate that reduced international trade restrictions have put downward pressure on unit cost for the industry in recent years. These results suggest that the Spanish textile industry and its domestic suppliers will be increasingly challenged by international competitive pressures.

Alliances, Trade Discrimination, and the Global Trade Regime

Although nondiscrimination is a central tenet of the global trade regime, discrimination was in fact common under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, particularly against developing countries. The latter have recently sought to end such discrimination through World Trade Organization rules: for example, the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC) prohibited quota discrimination in this sector. I examine the ATC's impact on US discrimination, asking whether the ATC ended the US policy of favoring allies with generous textile and clothing quotas. I find that, while the United States favored allies before the ATC, this favoritism vanished in the post-ATC period. The ATC thus accomplished its goal of ending explicit textile and clothing discrimination. This result underscores the potential for multilateral rules to control trade discrimination and implies that popular theories of trade policy may be contingent on such rules.

The EU Market for apparel exports, China's cotton imports, and the end of the ATC

Abstract The expiration of the WTO Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC) in January 2005 coincided with surges of China's apparel exports and apparent increases in China's cotton imports, the former of which has led to trade conflicts between China and its main trading partners, and the latter of which has seemingly prompted China to relax its restrictions on cotton imports. Using monthly trade data, this study employs a vector autoregression model to investigate the interlinkages between China's and its competitors’ apparel exports to the EU and between China's apparel exports and its cotton imports. Our analysis shows that (1) there appears to be a downward-sloping and elastic demand curve for China's apparel products by the EU; (2) China's and its competitors’ apparel exports to the EU are imperfect substitutes and the “crowding out” effects of Chinese apparel exports seem to be modest in the EU market; (3) the interrelationship between China's apparel exports and its demand for imported cotton is f...

China's role in world cotton and textile markets: a joint computable general equilibrium/partial equilibrium approach1

Under the Uruguay Round's Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC), the quotas inherited from the Multifibre Arrangement were gradually phased-out between January 1995 and 31 December 2004. This study estimates the impact of the ATC's implementation on China's textile industry and China's cotton sector. The study finds that, assuming equilibrium levels of income and exchange rates, the adoption of ATC are expected to increase China's net apparel exports, textile production, cotton consumption, cotton production and cotton imports. However, this study fails to support the hypothesis that the adoption of the ATC results in China supplanting the textile industries of the rest of the developing world. The impacts on cotton are also smaller than indicated by previous studies. These outcomes are somewhat sensitive to estimates of expected efficiency gains around the world.

Turkish textile and clothing industry in the post-quota era and some policy options

Textile and clothing (T&C) industry has experienced important developments since 1994. The most important is that Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC) signed (1994) under supervision of World Trade Organization. The system governing T&C trade for more than 40 years has expired by means of stipulating a gradual quota reduction during the period 1995–2005. Though signing of ATC does not mean a complete elimination of protection, it may lead to shifts in market shares, trade and investment flows. It is expected that the equilibriums will change in favour of some countries as well as in disfavour of others. The period created serious problems for Turkish T&C industry. This paper attempts to analyse the impact of ATC on Turkish T&C industry.

Non-linear panel estimation of import quotas: The evolution of quota premiums under the ATC

We develop a panel-based inequality constrained least-squares (ICLS) framework for estimating the export tax equivalent (ETE) of quotas where the ETEs vary over time. Working with a panel of bilateral data on textile and clothing trade,underlying bilateral tariffs, and the country-pair coverage of quotas under the WTO's Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC), we use this framework to examine the evolution of market access conditions in the textile and clothing sectors. Our estimating framework takes advantage of the panel nature of trade data when calculating export tax equivalents while allowing for inequality constraints on the quota premium estimates. We also implement quadrature methods for calculating confidence intervals for our regression-based NTB measures.

Unpicking the Textiles Trade – The Impact of Liberalization on the Global Textiles Sector

The global textiles trade has been subject to major restructuring in recent years due to the phase out of quota restrictions under the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC). The impact of this liberalization on the EU and US markets has been considered elsewhere (Curran, 2008a). However it is only recently that figures have become available to enable a global picture of the impacts of the quota phase out (and subsequent re–imposition of export restraints on China) to be drawn. This article looks at these global figures and compares them, both to the forecasts made by various researchers prior to liberalization and to the impacts on the EU/US markets analysed previously. It finds that impacts were extensive, both directly in terms of clothing and textiles imports in the liberalized markets and indirectly within the supply chain of the textile sector. Overall,forecasts were correct on several key impacts – such as the increased exports of certain key suppliers, the negative impacts on the exports of certain other suppliers (although forecasts were generally overly pessimistic) and the positive indirect impacts in terms of increased textile demand from increased clothing production. However certain anomalies are identified, reflecting the difficulty in modelling the impact of restrictions on the sector. The overwhelming winners from the globalization of the clothing and textiles markets were China and India. The article looks in somewhat more detail at these two suppliers to disaggregate the factors contributing to their overall positive trade performance. In the aggregate, India increased their exports in value terms to a greater extent than China (although from a lower base).However, this positive performance needs to be seen in the context of the remaining restrictions on Chinese exports to India’s two key clothing markets – EU and the United States – and the fall in Indian exports in both textiles and clothing in the years immediately prior to liberalization. In undertaking this exercise, it was necessary to compare the global trade figures which are extracted from the UN’s COMTRADE database, with the EU’s own figures on trade from COMEXT, the Eurostat database, on which previous work was based (Curran, 2008a). It is evident that there are major differences in the figures, in particular in relation to declared exports from Hong Kong and China. Clearly, there are unresolved issues in terms of the declaration of the origin of trade between China and Hong Kong in this sector. Unpicking exactly what is happening in the sector is complicated by these differences in what should be ‘mirror’trade.

Forecasting the Trade Outcomes of Liberalization in a Quota Context—What Do We Learn From Changes in Textiles Trade After the ATC?

The liberalization of clothing and textiles trade on 1 January 2005 under the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC), gives us a very interesting real world example of the impact of liberalizing quota restrictions on markets and, by implication, the impact on markets of quotas themselves. Several efforts were made to forecast the outcome prior to liberalization. The most comprehensive used CGE models based on the GTAP database. This article looks at the actual impacts of liberalization, particularly on the EU market, but also on the United States. It finds that, although models forecast some elements of the outcome reasonably accurately—specifically the large increases for China and India—other forecasts were less accurate. In particular, the heavy losses of the Asian tigers—especially Korea and Taiwan—were not anticipated. The fact is that ATC quota restrictions, by limiting competition on protected markets, were to some extent, also protecting certain less competitive suppliers’ market share.

Is the phasing out of the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing eroding competitiveness in Central America and the Dominican Republic?

The Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC) of the World Trade Organization (WTO), and the restrictions deriving therefrom, expired on 1 January 2005. This article quantifies the expected effect of the phasing out of ATC in the context of the free trade agreement between Central America, the Dominican Republic and the United States (DR-CAFTA). We argue that, other things equal, Central America and the Dominican Republic will obtain a smaller share of the United States market, owing to stronger competition from Asian countries, the consequent market reorganization, the rise of the “full package” system, and the lesser competitive advantage afforded by low wages in the value chain of the textile and clothing sectors. In the post-ATC era, other factors, such as just-in-time production and specialization, are the keys to competing advantageously on the international market, given the trend of integration in the links of that chain.

Textiles and Clothing in South Asia

Phasing out of the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC) have had different degrees of impact on the South Asian countries depending on their level of competitiveness, factor endowment and marketing calibre. Based on the data available for the first two years after the phasing out of quotas, it can be inferred that temporary safeguards imposed on China have provided some breathing space for the relatively less competitive countries in the region. However, the entire landscape of the Textiles and Clothing (T&C) sector in the region will change after the elimination of these safeguards in 2008. This article argues that despite several constraints, the South Asia region has a potential to develop itself as a global T&C hub. Therefore, concerted efforts need to be made at three levels to realize this potential. First, to form a common position at the international negotiations forum to overcome protectionist market access barriers. This should be done in tandem with the use of the regional cooperation platform to remove barriers to trade, investment and technology transfer within the region. Second, to make investments in addressing supply side constraints in order to enhance the competitiveness of the South Asian T&C sector in a phased manner. Third, to adopt strategies used successfully by countries within and outside the region to ward off competitive pressures, which are likely to ensue when the T&C trade becomes free from all restrictions.

After the MFA, the CCAs (China Containment Agreements)

The post-Multi Fiber Agreement (MFA) trade regime in textile and apparel appears to be emerging in ways which are quite different from what had been widely anticipated before the termination of Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC). Since the end of ATC, there has been growing and spreading set of trade restrictions targeted primarily at China, the largest shipper of textile and apparel, through a series of agreements that we term China Containment Agreements. We discuss the evolution of these agreements, their behavioural responses, and then draw their parallels to those under the older MFA. We argue that there is potential for these restrictions to prolong and grow, as well as spread to other products through the product-specific safeguards mechanism included in the conditions of China's World Trade Organization accession.

Clothing's big bang: the impact of the end of the ATC on developing country clothing suppliers

PurposePrior to the liberalisation of the clothing and textiles sector under the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC) fears had been expressed about the potential impact on developing country suppliers. This paper seeks to establish the actual impact of the liberalisation of the EU and US clothing markets.Design/methodology/approachComparison of trade figures pre and post liberalisation.FindingsThe paper finds that, as forecast, significant changes occurred in sourcing patterns in the EU almost overnight. The big winners were India and China. Almost all other developing countries lost market share, although often not as much as had been feared. The impact of the liberalisation was mitigated somewhat by the new quantitative restrictions negotiated with China half way through the year, which resulted in a redistribution of market share to other developing countries. Comparisons with the USA indicate that trends are rather similar, although on that market more developing countries saw increases in their exports, partly cancelling out losses in the EU.Originality/valueThis is believed to be the first attempt to assess the real world impact of the liberalisation of the clothing sector.

Rags in the High Rent District: The Evolution of Quota Rents in Textiles and Clothing

We develop a mixed complementarity programming (MCP) based estimating framework for non-tari barriers (NTBs) to examine the evolution of market access conditions in the textile and clothing sectors, working with a panel of bilateral trade data on textile and clothing trade, underlying bilateral taris, and the country-pair coverage of quotas under the WTO’s Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC). Our estimating framework takes advantage of the panel nature of trade data when calculating export tax equivalents while allowing for inequality constraints on the quota premium estimates. We also introduce Gaussian quadrature for estimating goodness of fit for regression-based NTB measures based on residual fitting.