29. 3. 82 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 77/17 
Opinion on the Commission communication to the Council on the situation and prospects of 
the textile and clothing industries in the Community 
A. LEGAL BASIS FOR THE OPINION 
At its 190th plenary session held on 23 and 24 September 1981 the Committee, acting on a 
proposal from the Bureau, decided to deliver an opinion on the abovementioned subject on its 
own initiative. 
B. OPINION OF THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE 
The Economic and Social Committee prepared its opinion on the above matter at its 194th 
plenary session held in Brussels on 24 and 28 January 1982. 
The full text of the opinion is as follows: 
THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE, 
Having regard to the fourth paragraph of Article 20 of its 
Rules of Procedure, 
Having regard to the decision taken by the Committee on 
24 September 1981, following a proposal from its 
Bureau, to deliver on its own initiative an opinion on the 
Commission communication to the Council on the 
situation and prospects of the textile and clothing 
industries in the Community, and to instruct the Section 
for Industry, Commerce, Crafts and Services to prepare 
work on the matter, 
Having regard to the opinion adopted by the Section for 
Industry, Commerce, Crafts and Services on 6 January 
1982, 
Having regard to the oral report submitted by the 
rapporteur, Mr Masucci, 
Having regard to the study of the Section for Industry, 
Commerce, Crafts and Services on structural changes in 
the textile and clothing sector: analysis of the situation 
and examination of previous and future Community 
measures, of 3 June 1981, 
Having regard to the discussions on 28 January 1982 
during the 194th Plenary Session held on 27 and 28 
January 1982, 
HAS ADOPTED THE FOLLOWING OPINION 
by 70 votes to 9 with 41 abstentions: 
1.1. The Commission's document lays down 
objectives and general guidelines for industrial policy in 
the T-C sector. 
1.2. It is a valuable document and the Committee 
welcomes some of its basic points which clarify the thinking of the Commission on fundamental problems 
and to some extent coincide with the conclusions reached 
in the recent study of the Section for Industry. 
1.3. The Committee finds itself in agreement with the 
general aims of the Commission, which may be 
summarized as follows: 
— A competitive textile and clothing sector must 
continue to occupy an important place in the overall 
industrial structure of the Community, and must not 
be siphoned off to non-member countries. 
— All the essential production stages of the T-C chain 
must continue to be represented in the Community; 
this implies that certain sectors must not be given 
priority over others in the restructuring process, 
leaving less 'defensible' sub-sectors to fend for 
themselves. 
— Exports should be boosted: this could be done by the 
T-C sector and public authorities acting in unison, 
though in accordance with GATT rules. 
— Production in the Community's T-C sector must not 
fall below the level of the last few years; this is 
regarded by the Committee as a minimum 
objective. 
— More statistics and economic data should be made 
available and research and technological innovation 
should be boosted; the Committee trusts that the 
decisions taken at Community level on these matters 
will be rapidly translated into reality. 
— The Multifibre Arrangement, which is an instrument 
for restoring balance to international trade in textile 
products, should be administered by the Community 
in accordance with not only commercial but also 
industrial policy criteria; the principal criterion is that 
foreign trade must further the development of the 
poorest non-member countries (an aspect of vital 
importance). 
No C 77/18 Official Journal of the European Communities 29. 3. 82 
2.1. As far as the future of the T-C sector is concerned, 
the overall picture forecast in the Commission's 
document is a disastrous one. 
2.2. The Commission's document predicts the 
following for the 1980s if the present trend continues: 
— stagnating demand and production (to be more 
precise, the document states that present production 
levels must be kept up); 
— imports probably rising faster than the annual growth 
in consumption; 
— a loss of about 110 000 - 120 000 jobs per year, 
which would mean about one million jobs being lost 
over the whole decade, i.e. 45 % of the 2-4 million 
people currently employed in the Community's T-C 
sector; it should be stressed, however, that these 
figures do not take account of employment in the 
small firms sector and in craft enterprises (employing 
up to 20 people). This fall in employment will be due 
to the combined effects of imports (predominantly 
from low-cost countries), prohibitive barriers to the 
exports of Community textiles to other countries, 
technological innovation, increased productivity and 
stagnating demand. 
2.3. If these very gloomy forecasts are fulfilled, the 
present situation will deteriorate considerably. 
2.4. A solution to net job losses in the T-C sector 
cannot reside solely in the creation of new jobs in other 
industries because almost all industries are losing jobs 
through rationalization schemes. In fact it is reasonable to 
expect employment levels in industry as a whole to fall in 
the 1980s rather than rise. 
2.5. The Commission raises the question of national 
aid being used to promote structural changes and 
technological innovations. The Committee feels, 
however, that consideration must also be given to the 
possibility of using aid to boost employment. Whatever 
the type of aid, however, it should only be given if it does 
not threaten to distort competition within the 
Community and if it does not lead to Member States 
outbidding each other in the granting of aids (see Article 
92 of the Treaty). The Committee also hopes that the 
Commission will take rapid and concrete steps to ensure 
the 'transparency' of national aids to firms - an issue 
referred to on page 35 of the Commission's document. 
2.6. The Committee nevertheless considers that the 
effects of job losses can partly be mitigated by, among 
other things, the provision of aid from the Community's Social and possibly Regional Fund (for example by means 
of a special quota-free programme). The Committee also 
wonders whether a Community initiative on part-time 
working, which is particularly important for women 
employed in the textiles and clothing industry, could not 
also make a positive contribution. 
2.7. It is necessary not so much to tackle redundancies 
through social provisions, as to limit job losses through 
technical measures that have a more direct bearing on the 
development of the T-C sector. Such measures would 
include: 
1. A gradual reduction of working hours in the 1980s 
particularly in firms where plant is operated to fuller 
capacity; this is because strong foreign competition 
and high utilization of capacity in foreign firms is 
forcing the European textile industry to make 
optimum use of plant and equipment in order to 
ensure, in particular, international competitiveness. 
2. In the restructuring process, the greatest degree of 
understanding between the two sides of industry 
should be sought in order to bring about in a 
concerted way the best possible use of plant and 
equipment, inter alia, through new methods of work 
organization negotiated with the workforce. 
3. Since general industrial measures must normally be 
given priority in the textile sector, any sectoral policy 
should step up efforts to achieve restructuring and 
adjustment with a view to boosting the development 
of new products and systems of production. 
4. The MFA is still needed as a back-up measure and 
foreseeable trends in Community consumption must 
be a basic consideration in bilateral negotiations on 
the fixing of import quotas. Consideration must also 
be given to the need to encourage exports from the 
poorest developing countries. The MFA will, 
however, be ineffectual unless the new quotas are 
monitored rapidly and meticulously. 
5. As far as its textile and clothing exports are 
concerned, the Community must do everything in its 
power to remove prohibitive import barriers -
especially in the so-called newly industrializing 
countries - and must strive to improve the balance 
between imports and exports, even in trade with 
state-trading countries. 
6. Other non-EEC industrialized, countries generally 
enjoy a higher level of customs protection for textile 
29. 3. 82 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 77/19 
products than the Member States, so steps must be 
taken to ensure that the highest protective barriers 
and other trade barriers are removed as soon as 
possible within the framework of GATT. 
7. Extremely tough and immediate action needs to be 
taken to prevent non-member countries from 
engaging in dumping. 
8. Common rules on OPT should be drawn up in such a 
way that re-imports are kept within the overall 
Community ceilings fixed in trade agreements with 
individual countries. be aligned at Community level to avoid distortions of 
competition. 
2.9. As far as foreign trade aspects are concerned, the 
Commission assumes that conditions of production and 
competition in the Community are comparable with 
those obtaining in the other industrialized countries. In 
the Committee's view, it is essential to take action against 
unfair trade practices and artificially distorted conditions 
of production and competition. 
2.10. The Committee asks the Commission to try and 
evaluate the impact of the MFA on prices and 
employment, and on the incomes of workers in the Third 
World. 
2.8. With regard to paragraph 1 of point 2.7 we 
should remember what the recent study of the Section for 
Industry had to say, namely that a carefully planned 
reduction of working hours is possible, but only if greater 
use is made of the most technologically up-to-date plant: 
the Section for Industry's study also said that if shorter 
hours are introduced on a general scale, they will have to 2.11. Finally the Committee believes - and this was 
also stated in the Section's study - that we must take into 
account the long-term interests of the T-C sector and its 
workers, while not forgetting European consumers and 
workers in the Third World; the aim should be to develop 
a coherent policy for making the European textile and 
clothing industry strong, up-to-date and profitable. 
Done at Brussels, 28 January 1982. 
The Chairman 
of the 
Economic and Social Committee 
Tomas ROSEINGRAVE 
ANNEX 
to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee 
Amendments rejected 
The following amendments, based on the section opinion and tabled in accordance with the Rules of 
Procedure, were defeated during the discussion: 
Point 2.7 (1) at bottom of page 4 
Delete the words 'in the 1980s' in the first line of point 2.7 (1). 
Reasons 
Saying that it is possible to 'gradually' reduce working hours in the 1980s and that such reductions will 
basically depend on plant being operated to fuller capacity, is tantamount to deferring any other cuts in 
working hours to the 1990s, irrespective of whether such cuts are introduced on a wide scale or not. This is 
all the more true if we take into consideration the restrictive nature of point 2.8. 
No C 77/20 Official Journal of the European Communities 29. 3. 82 
Voting 
For: 35; Against: 50; Abstentions: 13. 
Page 5 
Replace point 3 by the following: 
'For the purpose of implementing the Multifibre Arrangement during the period 1 January 1982 to 
31 July 1986, and especially of concluding bilateral agreements fixing import quotas, the basic aim 
must be to lose no time in achieving the MFA's main objective, viz. to boost the LDCs' annual exports to 
the industrialized countries by at least 6%. Until this target has been attained, specially favourable 
treatment should be accorded to exports from the poorest LDCs\ 
Reason 
For instance, point 2 of Annex B to the original Multifibre Arrangement, which came into force on 
1 January 1974, specifies as follows: 'Should the restraint measures remain in force for another 
twelve-month period, the level for that period shall not be lower than the level specified for the preceding 
twelve-month period, increased by not less than 6% for products under restraint'. 
Further, the new Protocol, extending the Arrangement for the period 1 January 1982 to 31 July 1986, 
states: 'Participants emphasized that the primary aims of the MFA are to ensure the expansion of trade in 
textile products, particularly for the developing countries, and progressively to achieve the reduction of 
trade barriers and the liberalization of world trade in textile products . . . With specific reference to the 
LDCs the main objective is to secure a substantial increase in their export earnings from textile products 
and to provide scope for a greater share for them in world trade in these products'. 
In the light of such clear commitments by all parties to the new MFA Agreement (including the 
Community), it would seem obvious for the ESC, in an opinion on the international textile situation, to 
reiterate the original aim of the MFA, namely to boost world trade in textile products subject to import 
restraints by at least 6 % per annum. 
Voting 
For: 12; Against: 70; Abstentions: 25. 
Page 7 
New paragraph 2.10. 
(to be inserted before the present paragraph 2.10 which would become 2.11) 
'The Committee considers it important that an assessment be made of how much the MFA costs 
European consumers in increased prices for clothing and textile products: of the impact it has on the 
incomes of workers in the Third World: and of whether, and at what cost, the MFA does in fact keep 
European workers in jobs. It requests the Commission to take the necessary steps to provide such an 
assessment'. 
Reasons 
The EEC should take increasing account of consumer interest in price and choice of clothing, and should 
withstand growing protectionist pressure, which weakens the ability of the developing countries to buy 
higher value EEC export goods. The negative effects of this pressure are primarily felt by low-income 
consumers and purchasers of children's clothing. Evidence collected in the USA by the Federal Trade 
Commission showed that each job protected in the USA costs consumers approximately double the average 
annual wage of workers in the US textile industries. Despite consumer requests and the Commission's 
29. 3. 82 Official Journal of the European Communities No C 77/21 . 
expressed intention to monitor all aspects of the textile industry's performance, there is yet no EEC system 
for assessing the abovementioned costs. 
Voting 
For: 30; Against: 37; Abstentions: 41. 
Opinion on the proposal for a Council Directive amending Directive 76/768/EEC on the 
approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to cosmetics products 
The text referred to the Committee has been published in the Official Journal of the European 
Communities No C 313 of 2 December 1981, page 5. 
A. LEGAL BASIS FOR THE OPINION 
On 11 November 1981 the Council referred the abovementioned proposal to the Economic 
and Social Committee in accordance with Article 100 of the Treaty establishing the European 
Community. 
B. OPINION OF THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE 
The Economic and Social Committee prepared its opinion on the above matter at its 194th 
plenary session held in Brussels on 24 and 28 January 1982. 
The full text of the opinion is as follows: 
THE ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL COMMITTEE, 
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European 
Economic Community, and in particular Article 100 
thereof, 
Having regard to the request from the Council of the 
European Communities on 17 November 1981 for an 
opinion on the proposal for a Council Directive amending 
Directive 76/768/EEC on the approximation of the laws 
of the Member States relating to cosmetic products, 
Having regard to the decision of its Chairman on 
8 December 1981 instructing the Section for Industry, 
Commerce, Crafts and Services to prepare an opinion and 
a report on the matter, 
Having regard to the opinion adopted by that Section at 
its meeting on 6 January 1982> 
Having regard to the report of the rapporteur, Mr 
Masprone, Having regard to the discussions at its meeting on 
28 January 1982 (194th Plenary Session of 27 and 28 
January 1982), 
HAS ADOPTED THE FOLLOWING OPINION 
by 50 votes to 0, with 23 abstentions: 
The Committee approves the draft Directive subject to 
the following reservations: 
1. General comments 
1.1. The Committee feels that when new substances 
are added to an approved list, it would be a good idea to 
reconsider the authorization of other substances used for 
the same purpose, so that some of them may, in the long