Jul 27, 1988

TEXTILE NEGOTIATIONS CAN’T LAG BEHIND OTHERS.

GENEVA JULY 25 (IFDA/CHAKRAVARTHI RAGHAVAN) -- Third world countries members of the International Textiles and Clothing Bureau (ITCB) have warned that the Uruguay round GATT Negotiations on Textiles and Clothing "cannot be allowed to lag behind the pace of work in other negotiating groups".

The ITCB is the alliance of third world country-members of the Multifibre Arrangement.

The warning on their behalf was given Monday by its chairman, Amb. Darry Salim of Indonesia, at the meeting of the group of Negotiations on Goods (GNG) in GATT.

The GATT Multilateral Trade Negotiations in Goods covering some 14 areas and conducting in separate negotiating groups, is coordinated and supervised by the GNG, which is holding a review meeting this week, before negotiators adjourn fur summer.

Speaking for the ITCB members at the GNG, Salim stressed the "crucial importance" of the negotiations on textiles and Clothing, and said that "the MFA, being a selective and discriminatory regime, is a competing system eroding the general agreement", and the negotiations must "reverse this erosion" to preserve the basic principles of GATT and to further its objectives.

ITCB members, Salim said, were therefore disappointed with the pace of work in the negotiations on textiles and clothing.

"The negotiations in this group cannot be allowed to lag behind the pace of work in other negotiating group", Salim added.

"The absence of political readiness on the part of major developed participants to implement the negotiating objective prevented progress in the textile negotiations. Adequate political impetus is therefore imperative".

"We are of the view that adequate political impetus can be provided by an immediate freeze on further restrictions under the MFA and by agreement within the Uruguay round on a specific time-frame to achieve the negotiating objective".