WORLD TRADE G/L/242
11May1998
ORGANIZATION(98-1857)
Council forTrade inGoods Original: English
THE INTERNATIONAL TEXTILES AND CLOTHING BUREAU
Communication from itsChairman
Thefollowing communication, dated 27April 1998, hasbeenreceived from theChairman
oftheInternational Textiles andClothing Bureau (ITCB).
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The27thsession oftheCouncil ofRepresentatives oftheInternational Textiles andClothing
Bureau (ITCB) heldintheMaldives from 14-17 April 1998 adopted theattached Communiqué. It
isrequested thatthetextoftheCommuniqué maybecirculated asaCTG document forinformation
oftheMembers oftheWTO onbehalf ofthemembers oftheITCB thatarealsoMembers oftheWTO.G/L/242
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Council ofRepresentatives
XXVII Session
Maldives
14-17 April 1998
MALDIVES COMMUNIQUE
TheITCB Council ofRepresentatives expressed itsprofound gratitude totheGovernment of
Maldives forhosting its27thSession from 14to17April 1998. Thesession wasinaugurated by
H.E. Mr.Abdulla Yameen, Minister ofTrade, Industries and Labour oftheMaldives.
H.E. Mr.Nestor Osorio (Colombia) waselected Chairman, andH.E. Mr.Ahmed Naseem, Director
General ofInvestments (Maldives) andMr.Timothy Tong (Hong Kong, China) wereelected asVice-
Chairmen ofthesession.
WTO, UNCTAD, ITCrepresentatives, andtheChairman ofTMB whowasspecially invited,
made presentations atthesession. Presentations werealsomade byrepresentatives ofimporters 'and
retailers 'associations inthedeveloped importing countries onissues ofcommon interest andmutual
concern. TheCouncil expressed itsappreciation forthese presentations andacknowledged their
contributions.
TheCouncil reviewed developments affecting theconduct oftrade intextiles andclothing.
Itexpressed confidence thatwithfaithful implementation oftheATC, thesector shall stand fully
integrated intotherules anddisciplines oftheGATT 1994 by1January 2005.
TheCouncil assessed theoutcome ofthefirstmajor review ofATC'simplementation byWTO
Council forTrade inGoods (CTG). With regard totheemphasis placed bytheCTG onregularly
overseeing andevaluating further progress inimplementation, itnoted thatanalytical contributions
bytheITCB hadhelped toestablish important bench-marks forthese purposes.
TheCouncil acknowledged thattwoofthefourimporting countries which hadmaintained
restrictions under theMFA hadnowtaken positive steps byearly elimination ofcertain restrictions.
Ontheother hand, itreiterated itsserious concern thatthetwolargest restraining countries hadleft
theelimination ofvirtually theentire setofrestrictions towards theendofATC'stransition period.
Itcalled upon them totakeimmediate steps toliberalize trade inthesector. Itunderscored the
importance forimporting countries toallow forcontinuous autonomous industrial adjustment and
increased competition intheirmarkets inorder tofacilitate theintegration ofthetextiles andclothing
sector intoGATT 1994.
TheCouncil noted therecent deceleration intheinvocation oftransitional safeguard actions.
Itexpected thatfuture actions, ifany,shallabide bythedisciplines oftheATC andtheguidelines
established bypanel decisions.
TheCouncil regretted thefailure ofcertain restraining countries toprovide meaningful increases
inmarket access forsmall suppliers andleast-developed countries asstipulated under Article 1:2of
theATC andcalled upon them andtheTMB toensure fullcompliance withtheirobligations under
theATC. TheCouncil urged alldeveloped countries toadopt allmeasures inorder tousetheirG/L/242
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preferential schemes tofacilitate thegrowth ofexports oftextile andclothing products byleast-developed
countries andnottoimpede itinanyway.
TheCouncil reviewed developments relating totheharmonized work programme under the
Agreement onRules ofOrigin andwasdetermined toensure thatitsoutcome doesnotundermine or
impede access tomarkets. Itexpressed grave concern overthearbitrary useofrepetitive anti-dumping
actionsbyonemajordevelopedimportingcountryagainstITCBmembers'exports,especiallyonproducts
already under severe quota restraints. Itnoted withapprehension theimposition ofvisarequirements
byanother major developed importing country forintegrated products intheabsence ofanyjustification
under WTO provisions andcalled foritsimmediate review bytheTMB.
TheCouncil reiterated theimportance ofcontinuous supervision oftheimplementation ofthe
ATC. Itemphasized thattheTMB hastheresponsibility toexamine theconformity ofallmeasures
taken under theAgreement withitsprovisions andtoensure thattherights ofexporting countries are
notimpaired, especially when protectionist measures donotmeetthecriteria oftheATC. TheTMB
should provide fulljustification foritsconclusions.
TheCouncil reaffirmed itsresolve toresist allforms ofprotectionism, soastoensure the
enforcement ofitsmembers 'rights.
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