A meeting of the World Trade Organisation in Geneva will discuss the end of the system of quota restrictions which currently regulates textile trade. The quotas are due to be eliminated at the end of 2004. Some countries fear they will be hit very hard.
This report from Andrew Walker:
There have been quotas on textile trade for decades. They impose limits on how much developing nations can export to rich countries. The original purpose was to protect textile and clothing companies in those rich countries from low cost competition. Now with the end of the quota restrictions just a few weeks away, many smaller developing nations see them in a different light - as a kind of guaranteed share of the very profitable markets of the developed world. And they are worried that China and India will make huge inroads if they are freed from their own quotas.
A group of WTO member countries, from Asia, Africa and the Caribbean are calling for the World Trade Organisation to find solutions to the problems. There has been little progress and the deadline is getting very close. The countries concerned say that job losses from the closure of textile and clothing factories will cause social unrest and increase poverty. They say women will be especially affected as they work in the industry in large numbers and have few other employment opportunities.
There is almost no prospect of the quotas being extended. The phase out is written into the WTO rules and China and India would not agree to a delay.
Andrew Walker, BBC, Geneva
a different light
de un modo diferente
make huge inroads
hacer una gran avanzada en el mercado