Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2003-06-18-Speech-3-094"
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Madam President, as we all know, the textiles and clothing sector occupies a prominent place in international trade, with flows of EUR 350 000 million in 2002. That is more than 5% of all world exports. It is a key sector for the developing countries. It accounts for 50% of world textiles exports and 70% of world clothing exports. For many of them it is the main source of exports and of industrial employment.
Secondly, we must use the Doha round to obtain market access conditions that are fair and similar all over the world. We cannot be satisfied with confining the opening of markets to the abolition of quotas in 2005. As I said, that would create imbalances in terms of access; but our present proposal in multilateral talks is based on arguments of fairness. We are calling on all the other members of the WTO to move their customs duties towards a common level, the lowest possible, and obviously to abolish non-tariff barriers. All countries, except, to our mind, the least developed countries, must contribute to this, including of course those whose textiles and clothing exports are highly competitive.
I would like to use this debate to reassure both the European industry and the countries which enjoy preferential access to the Union’s markets. It is not our intention to further reduce our already quite low customs duties without getting wider access to external markets in return. We also think changes should be made gradually, with transitional periods for the application of common customs duties to allow those who have problems to make the necessary adjustments.
Thirdly, the Euro-Mediterranean area. It is in the process of becoming integrated and it should soon enjoy the expected benefits of the pan—Euro-Mediterranean cumulation of origin rules that should come into effect in the very near future. This new protocol on rules of origin should be presented to the trade ministers at the Euromed conference in Palermo on 7 July next. This system of diagonal cumulation of origin will allow economic operators in the Euromed area as a whole to expand their potential sources of supply by allowing producers in that area, which will be unified from this point of view, to use intermediate products from the whole of the area without any barriers. We expect this to have a positive effect on trade, contributing to the development of intra-regional trade in particular. Our aim is to be able to apply this cumulation effectively in all the countries of the area by the end of 2004.
Lastly, the promotion of sustainable development: we must give priority to incentives and respect for multilateral norms. We must continue to look at how public action can ensure that liberalisation will not be detrimental to working conditions or the environment and prevent non-compliance with social or environmental standards being used as a competitive advantage. We might, for example, consider increasing tariff preference margins within the Generalised System of Preferences for countries which apply these international standards, or encouraging private programmes for promoting sustainable development, or, again, looking at ways of increasing consumer information on products so as to give the fair trade option to those consumers that want it.
As you can see, and I will end here, the European Commission is very much aware of what is at stake in the textiles and clothing sector in terms of sustainable development, the fight against poverty, industrial and social policy and regional balances within the Union. It is a sector where the questions of fair distribution of the benefits of trade and globalisation are keenly felt and a sector that offers us the possibility of developing industrial and commercial policies that do justice to all these legitimate concerns. In the European Commission we have begun a study to identify the categories of products most at risk, the effects of liberalisation on production, its effects on employment in the enlarged Union and its impact in the regions that are the most dependent on textiles production. Both sides of industry are following these developments very closely with us in a sectoral social committee. We are also holding talks with the economic and social partners to identify what further measures might be taken to encourage competitiveness in the sector.
Finally, my colleague, Mr Erkki Liikanen, and myself are planning to present a communication on commercial and industrial policy in the textiles and clothing sector after 2005 to the Members of the Commission next autumn and then to Parliament and the Council in order to provide – as is our mission – all the parties concerned with a clear, predictable and coherent framework that will enable them, for their part, to plan their strategies, investments and activities. We must join forces to show the way forward for the textiles and clothing sector as a whole.
For us Europeans, too, investment, the move upmarket and the world leadership we have acquired in a sector like fashion have also made it a key sector for the future. Europe is now the world’s biggest exporter in textiles and the second largest in clothing. In today’s Europe, 2 million people are employed in textiles and clothing, and in the enlarged Europe that will be 2.5 million and a turnover of EUR 200 000 million.
Knowing how sensitive textiles and clothing are in a large number of countries, the European Commission organised an international conference on 5 and 6 May last, which was attended by delegates from over 80 countries. We discussed the challenges facing the sector in the years ahead, especially with the final abolition of quotas on 1 January 2005, which is also the proposed date for the conclusion of the current World Trade Organisation negotiations. Four major findings emerged from that conference.
Firstly, the developing countries are very vulnerable, especially those that are the most dependent on textiles and clothing exports. This is especially true of the least advanced countries and those with weak or not very diversified economies. It is also the case of the countries which have preferential agreements with us, like the countries of the southern and eastern Mediterranean, some of the ACP countries and other small exporters. Most of these countries depend very much on the textiles and clothing sector for their export revenue, since it may account for virtually all their exports and much of their employment.
Secondly, market access conditions in textiles and clothing differ greatly from one part of the world to another. While Europe imposes customs duties averaging 9%, for example, many countries have duties as high as 30% or even higher, as well as retaining major non-tariff barriers. If we therefore confine liberalisation to abolishing quotas in 2005, we are likely to be faced with an unbalanced world market where competition is, as it were, focussed on the markets of the industrialised countries, our markets, where growth is weak.
Thirdly, the importance of the Euro-Mediterranean area. That is the natural area of competition for the European industry. I will come back to this. We have projects concerning it.
Fourthly, increasing competition is likely to intensify pressure on natural and human resources and presents serious problems in terms of sustainable development, but also of conditions of fair competition where fundamental social rights are involved, for example.
Having identified these issues, what are the answers, answers that must of course be found not by us, or by the Americans, or by the Indians or by the Chinese, but found through talks with all the parties concerned in accordance with the rules of the World Trade Organisation?
The first answer is development. If we are to alleviate the effects on the poorer and weaker countries of abolishing quotas, we must think how to concentrate the preferential access we grant to the developing countries, through the generalised system of preferences, for example, on what will probably be the most vulnerable countries. I am thinking of the least developed countries. I am thinking of the ACP group of countries. I am thinking of the small economies. We will also have to look at ways of making it easier for the countries concerned to make use of those preferences – I am thinking of the rules of origin, for example – while ensuring, of course, that those countries are indeed the ones which really benefit from the preferences we give."@en1
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