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USA:US Trade Rep. Zoellick gives call to boost cotton output |
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2004-12-10
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African cotton growers have been urged to boost cotton output to ensure integrated textile production at home develops raising competitiveness.
US Trade Representative Robert Zoellick addressing a press conference during a visit to Africa, said under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) - the US law on spurring profitable trade for African businesses by eliminating customs duties - "It will be increasingly important for Africa to have integrated (textile) production so as to reduce the costs."
Aprreciating Mali’s example of yarns export to Mauritius to be manufacture textiles, Zoellick said, "It is important for Africa to develop fabric production in order to compete in the world market.”.
"AGOA is an advantage for African countries," Zoellick said, noting "other countries still are very efficient producers."
Zoellick also announced that a conference on biotechnology would be held in Mali in July 2005. "It''s my understanding that it will focused mostly on cotton," said Zoellick, who was winding up a two-day visit to Senegal at the start of a five-country African tour.
On a week long tour, Zoellick will visit Benin, Mali, Namibia and Lesotho, is aimed at following up on the Doha round of trade liberalization talks of the World Trade Organization.
Enroute to Africa, on Monday, the US official met his European Commission counterpart Peter Mandelson for the first time, in Paris, to discuss various contentious trade issues between Washington and Brussels.
In September, the WTO ruled that US cotton subsidies were infringing global trade rules, withholding Brazil’s filing against it on the issue of cotton subsidies continuing to US cotton growers affecting their growers at home. As a result The United States has appealed against the ruling which turned in to a hot topic among other issues. |
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