Job losses resulting from the lifting of global trade quotas in the textile industry have been lower than forecast, the U.N. labor agency said Monday.In a first assessment since the quotas were lifted on Jan. 1, the International Labor Organization found that the situation is less dramatic than previously predicted even though employment in the textile industries of many countries, including in Europe and the United States, has declined.

"The dire consequences that were predicted, at least up until now, have not occurred," said Sally Paxton, in charge of the social dialogue sector at the ILO.

U.S. and other textile associations last year predicted that millions of people — 600,000 in the United States alone , would lose their jobs as a result of free textile trade.

Both the United States and Europe have accused China of flooding their markets with low-cost textiles after the phase-out. In September, the EU renegotiated import limits with China, and Beijing committed to block further exports of sweaters, trousers or bras this year. But a fourth round of U.S.-Chinese talks on the textile dispute ended without agreement earlier this month.

The ILO said it was difficult to quantify exact job losses only 10 months into the lifting of the quotas. "This is a transition time," Paxton said.

The available data for the United States and Europe only underlines the long-standing trend of fewer textile jobs, but covers little of 2005. Textile employment in the United States and Europe fell by 6.5 percent between May 2004 and May 2005, while that in the EU's 25 member states declined by 5 percent between February 2004 and February 2005.

Trade data, which is more current, shows that the United States, the world's most important importer of textiles and clothes, increased textile imports by 10.1 percent in the first six months of 2005 compared with the year-earlier period. Germany alone imported 200 percent more knitted clothing in the first six months of this year than in the January-June period of 2004.

Some of the countries often cited as big potential losers, such as Bangladesh, was faring far better than expected, Paxton said. Although garment exports from Bangladesh fell by $52 million (44 million euros) in January, they strongly recovered by $157 million (132 million euros) in February, with another slight increase in March.

The ILO said Cambodia served as a good showcase for how a country could boost an industry , it increased textile exports to the United States by 17 percent in the first four months of 2005 ,through improved working conditions.

"Buyers are more and more interested in conditions under which clothes are made," said Jean-Paul Sajhau, a textile sector specialist at the ILO. Quality, the capability of delivering on time and the incidence of strikes were as important as price, he added.

The ILO said sub-Saharan Africa could be the biggest potential loser of the new trade rules. The change "has come as a big shock and some countries have not been sufficiently prepared," Sajhau said.

Wjla.com