Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-02-23-Speech-3-249"
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"en.20050223.17.3-249"2
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".
Mr President, the textile industry is a very important economic factor for all of us in Europe and, therefore, internal and external measures must be taken. We are working on a very comprehensive strategy.
The Commission is reluctant to do something that would more or less pave the way for the easy introduction of safeguards. The Commission does not want the guidelines to be a vehicle to facilitate or prompt safeguard action, but one that prevents recourse to safeguards. The Commission would like these guidelines to introduce transparency in the handling of the requests for safeguards that may be made, but it would also like them to introduce greater predictability in trade, for instance by providing some safe zones, generously established and providing for very large expansion possibilities below which we would not consider safeguard action.
Again, let me just mention a few points because this was a very complex and comprehensive debate. The Commission has proposed several actions to enhance the competitiveness of the European textile industry in its second communication on the textile industries. The actions proposed include measures such as strengthening the fight against counterfeiting and piracy; enforcing intellectual property rights; establishing an action plan to address existing trade barriers in third countries; fostering advance technology and textiles and clothing with high added value under the EU's Research and Development Programmes; and ensuring lifelong education and vocational training. Second, the Commission has established a system for monitoring imports of textiles and clothing products from China.
However, it is too early to draw conclusions on monitoring. The Textile High Level Group was unable to reach a conclusion in its June 2004 report on the 'Made in the European Union' mark of origin. The Commission will come back to that and will draw up proposals at a later date.
We will resort to safeguards only as a last resort. This includes the textiles-specific safeguard clause that was established in China's Protocol of Accession to the WTO. This is an important and clearly proactive strategy. Open international trade is also a key factor in the competitiveness of the economy as a whole. Access to third-country markets allows for the creation of jobs in Europe, which is also a key priority of the Commission. We are therefore determined to do all it takes to achieve the objective of equal market access so that EU firms in these sectors can exploit their hard-earned know-how and quality. The Commission will therefore draw up an action plan to address the barriers in third-country markets, and the Doha Development Round will provide the opportunity to carry out a comprehensive review of all the alleged non-tariff barriers.
Finally, I shall say a few more words on China. Commissioner Mandelson is not here because he is currently visiting China, but I will tell him about today's comprehensive debate and maybe you can go into more detail with him, as the Commissioner responsible for trade, at another time.
I would like to emphasise again that the Commission is monitoring closely China's compliance with the WTO accession commitments, most notably in the framework of the EU-China Textiles Trade Dialogue signed in May of last year by the Trade Commissioner and his Chinese counterpart.
Additionally, in the framework of other dialogues between the Commission and the Chinese authorities, the Commission has requested that the issue of the sustainable development of the textile sector, and in particular the question of corporate social responsibility, be put on the agenda. The Commission hopes that this will contribute to having the rather strict Chinese labour and environmental laws properly enforced.
We are also conducting a study, which will be finalised shortly, on working and other manufacturing conditions in the textile and clothing sector in China. In line with the Council's Presidency Conclusions from 2003, the European Union is committed to promoting respect for core labour standards through trade relations with third countries.
The last point I would like to make is about the proposed guidelines on the textile safeguard clause for China. This is still under preparation. The Commission wants to examine all sides of the issue thoroughly before taking a final decision."@en1
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