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Belgium : Textile ind not to reduce goals in Doha Round & Market Access |
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2006-3-22
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Speaking at a press conference in Brussels before a large group of journalists, MEPs and national and EU officials, EURATEX President Filiep LIBEERT clearly re-stated the ambitions of the European textile and clothing industry in the context of Market Access and the Doha Development Agenda.
He pointed to the fact that this industry employed for export alone more than seven times the total employment of AIRBUS – 50.000.
And yet its opportunities to increase its exports even beyond their € 40 billion level were hampered by high tariffs and an array of nontariff barriers.
In summary, stated Filiep LIBEERT, “the industry seeks genuine market access through tariff reductions down to EU levels, the elimination of nontariff barriers, the full participation of all except the least developed, in the shortest possible time, whilst retaining adequate margins of EU preference for the most vulnerable”.
It is not yet clear as to what extent these ambitions are still capable of being realized after the disappointing outcome of the WTO Hong Kong Ministerial meeting, with agreement being reached upon formulae for tariff reductions which differ as between developed and developing nations, and which as yet has failed to deliver anything genuinely meaningful in terms of non-tariff barriers.
These issues remain at the forefront of EURATEX’s concerns as the WTO mechanisms in Geneva progress towards the new deadline of end- April 2006.
Representations to the Commission are being multiplied, and a number of Government delegations in Geneva have met EURATEX representatives to discuss the current situation. |
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