THIRD WORLD CONCERN OVER NEW U.S. MOVES ON TEXTILES.

Jun 16, 1984

THIRD WORLD CONCERN OVER NEW U.S. MOVES ON TEXTILES.

GENEVA, JUNE 14 (IFDA/CHAKRAVARTHI RAGHAVAN) -- Third World countries voiced their concerns Thursday over the latest moves in the U.S. congress to further restrict textile and clothing imports.

The issue was raised at the meeting of the GATT Council by Pakistan's Mohammad Bajwa raised the issue on behalf of the Third World countries, exporters of textiles and clothing.

Bajwa said on June 12, forty-seven congressmen had introduced a bell "the textiles employment and fair trade act of 1984", which would direct the U.S. commerce department to freeze imports of textiles, apparel and fibres into the U.S. at the 1983 levels, allowing for an import growth of 1.5 percent for each of the four years thereafter up to 1988.

The proposed legislation also called for the establishment and administration of a new import licensing system to ensure strict enforcement of the quantitative restrictions and other requirements.

"We are bringing this to the attention of the Council in order to enable it to have an idea of the direction in which the world trading system would drift unless the Contracting Parties fulfilled their commitments undertaken in the GATT Ministerial of 1982", Bajwa added.

The spokesman for the EEC supported the Third World concern over the U.S. congressional moves and hoped the administration would bear in mind its own statements about free trade. The EEC spokesman hoped the U.S. administration would take note of the concerns expressed and would withstand such protectionist pressures.

Uruguay, South Korea and Hong Kong also spoke briefly in support of the joint Third World position in the Pakistan statement. Uruguay noted in particular that such protectionist moves were proliferating at a time when the U.S. recovery was proceeding vigorously and the demand in the market was increasing.

The U.S. delegate said the bill had not been sponsored by the administrations but had just been introduced by congressmen with textile interests in their constituencies. The concerns and comments at the Council, he added, would be conveyed to the administration in Washington.