• Liberalisation and textiles

Liberalisation and textiles

This report tracks the short-term impacts of the ending of the Multifibre agreement, with a focus on six countries: the Philippines, Cambodia, Bangladesh, Bulgaria, Lesotho and Kenya. Data from the report demonstrates that that China is the main beneficiary of the removal of quotas, a phenomenon which is explained by the extremely low prices offered by Chinese manufacturers – 10 to 50% lower than their competitors in other low-wage countries. The report notes that workers in most of the countries subjected to unfair competition from China are facing major difficulties, including job losses and greater downward pressure on their rights or working conditions.

The report makes the points that:

• employers and governments in virtually all producer countries are using the pretext of increased unfair competition to try to downgrade working conditions or wages in the sector and to step up their repression of trade unions
• Africa that has been the worst hit by job losses since the end of the MFA. From Morocco to South Africa, virtually all the textile and garment manufacturing countries are having great difficulty withstanding the competition from Asian goods
• infringements of corporate social responsibiltity are being concealed through falsified reports to auditors

Recommendations from the report are:

• the limits placed on the growth of Chinese imports by the United States and the European Union provide a breathing space, a time to reflect before full liberalisation in 2008. It is essential that this time be used wisely, to implement measures ensuring the growth and stability of the sector at the same time as guaranteeing respect for the fundamental rights of workers
• the only guarantee of respect for workers’ rights within any society is the existence of free and independent trade unions
• the crisis in the textile and clothing sector provoked by the lifting of quotas will require the collaboration of all the stakeholders: governments, industrialists, buyers, trade unions, importer countries and international institutions - one example is the MFA forum, which includes representatives from Oxfam, Gap, Nike, Marks & Spencer and the World Bank, among others
• the WTO General Council should agree to the need for a comprehensive examination of the impact of these changes in textile trading policy on employment and development

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