亞商?hào)|方國(guó)際—theagreementonTextilesandclothing

1、TEXTILES: AGREEMENTTextiles Monitoring Body (TMB)The Agreeme nt on Textiles and Clothi ngSince 1 January 1995, international textiles and clothing trade has been going through fun dame ntal cha nge un der the 10-year tran siti onal programme of the WTOs Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC). Befo

2、re the Agreeme nt took effect, a large porti on of textiles and clothi ng exports from develop ing coun tries to the in dustrial coun tries was subject to quotas un der a special regime outside no rmal GATT rules.Textiles Monitoring Body (TMB)The Agreeme nt on T extiles and Clothi ng Back_to_topSinc

3、e 1 January 1995, international textiles and clothing trade has been going through fun dame ntal cha nge un der the 10-year tran siti onal programme of the WTOs Agreeme nt on Textiles and Clothing (ATC). Before the Agreement took effect, a large portion of textiles and clothi ng exports from develop

4、 ing cou ntries to the in dustrial cou ntries was subject to quotas under a special regime outside normal GATT rules. Under the Agreement,WTO Members have committedthemselves to remove the quotas by 1Jan uary 2005 by in tegrati ng the sector fully into GATT rules.Multifibre Arrangement (MFA) 1974-19

5、94 Back to topUp to the end of the Uruguay Round, textile and clothing quotas were negotiated bilaterally and governed by the rules of the Multifibre Arrangement (MFA). This provided for the application of selective quantitative restrictions when surges in imports of particular products caused, or t

6、hreate ned to cause, serious damage to the in dustry of the importing country. The Multifibre Arrangement was a major departure from the basic GATT rules and particularly the prin ciple of non-discrim in ati on. On 1 Jan uary 1995 it was replaced by the WTO Agreement on Textiles and Clothing which s

7、ets out a transitional process for the ultimate removal of these quotas.The WTO Agreeme nt o n Textiles and Clothi ng (ATC) 1995-2004Back to topThe ATC is a tran siti onal in strume nt, built on the follow ing key eleme nts: (a) the product coverage, basically en compass ing yar ns, fabrics, made-up

8、 textile products and clothi ng;(b) a programme for the progressive in tegrati on of these textile and clothi ng products into GATT 1994 rules; (c) a liberalization process to progressively enlarge existing quotas (un til they are removed) by in creas ing ann ual growth rates at each stage; (d) a sp

9、ecial safeguard mechanism to deal with new cases of serious damage or threat thereof to domestic producers during the transition period; (e) establishment of a Textiles Monitoring Body (TMB) to supervise the implementation of the Agreement and ensure that the rules are faithfully followed; and (f) o

10、ther provisions, including rules on circumvention of the quotas, their administration, treatment of non-MFA restrictions, and commitments undertaken elsewhere under the WTOs agreements and procedures affecting this sector.The product coverage,listed in the Annex to the ATC, covers all products which

11、 weresubject to MFA or MFA-type quotas in at least one importing country.The integration processis laid down in ATC Article 2 and stipulates how Members shallintegrate the products listed in the Annex into the rules of GATT 1994 over the 10-year period. This process is to be carried out progressivel

12、y in three stages (3 years, 4 years, 3 years) with all products standing integrated at the end of the 10-year period. The first stage began on 1 January 1995 with the integration by Members of products representing not less than 16 per cent of that Members total 1990 imports of all the products in t

13、he Annex. At stage 2, on 1 January 1998, not less than a further 17 per cent was integrated. At stage 3, on 1 January2002, not less than a further 18 per cent will be integrated.Finally at the end, on 1 January 2005, all remaining products (amounting up to 49 per cent of 1990 imports into a Member)

14、will stand integrated and the Agreement terminates. Each importing Member decides itself which products it will integrate at each stage to reach these thresholds. The only constraint is that the integration list must encompass products from each of the four groupings: tops and yarns, fabrics, made-u

15、p textile products and clothing.The four WTO Members which maintained import restrictions under the former MFA (Canada, EC, Norway and the US) were required to undertake this integration process and to notify to the TMB the first phase of their programmes of integration by 1 October 1994.Other WTO M

16、embers were required, first, to notify the TMB if they wished to retain the right to use the transitional safeguard mechanism in the ATC (Article 6.1) and, if so, to provide their first stage integration lists. Fifty-five Members chose to retain this right and most of them provided lists of products

17、 for integration. Nine Members, Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Chile, Cuba, Hong Kong, Iceland, Macau, New Zealand and Singapore decided not to maintain the right to use the ATC safeguard mechanism. They are deemed to have integrated 100 per cent at the outset.Concurrent with the integration process,

18、 there is a programme for liberalizing the existing restrictions , that is, for enlarging the bilateral quotas carried over from the former MFA on 1 January 1995 (Article 2.1) until such time as the products are integrated into GATT, at which time the quotas terminate. These former MFA quotas, when

19、carried over into the ATC on 1 January 1995, represented the starting point for an automatic liberalization process set out in Article 2, paragraphs 12-16. The former MFA growth rates applicable to each of these quotas were increased on 1 January 1995 by a factor of 16 per cent for the first stage o

20、f the Agreement and the new growth rate was applied annually.The stage 1 growth rate was further increased by a factor of 25 per cent for the second stage on 1 January 1998; and will be increased by a further 27 per cent for the last stage beginning 1 January 2002. To illustrate this process, a 6 pe

21、r cent growth rate under the MFA in 1994 became 6.9 per cent under the ATC and applied each year 1995/96/97; then it was increased to 8.7 per cent for each year 1998/99/2000/01; and then will be increased to 11.05 per cent for 2002/3/4. For small suppliers (as defined in Article 2.18) the growth fac

22、tors (16 per cent, 25 per cent, 27 per cent) are to be advanced by one stage. Quotas will be eliminated either when the products concerned are integrated into GATT at one of the stages or at the end of the transition on 1 January 2005. There are additional provisions in Article 2 for early removal o

23、f quotas and integration of products.Article 3 deals withquantitative restrictions (or measures with similar effect) otherthan those under the MFA.Members which had such restrictions in place, which couldnot be justified under a GATT provision, were required either to bring them into conformity with

24、 GATT rules or phase them out within the ten year transitional period, according to a plan to be submitted by the restraining Member to the Textiles Monitoring Body. There is no obligation to eliminate restrictions that are permitted under GATT rules.A key aspect of the ATC is the provision in Artic

25、le 6 for aspecial transitional safeguardmechanism intended to protect Members against damaging surges in imports during the transition period from products which have not yet been integrated into GATT and which are not already under quota. This clause is based on a two-tiered approach - first, the i

26、mporting Member must determine that total imports of a specific product are causing serious damage, or actual threat thereof, to its domestic industry and second, it must then decide to which individual Member(s) this serious damage can be attributed. Specific criteria and procedures are set out for

27、 each step. The importing Member must then seek consultations with the exporting Member(s). Such safeguard measures may be applied on a selective, country-by-country basis by mutual agreement or, if agreement is not reached through the consultation process within 60 days, by unilateral action. The q

28、uota may not be lower than the actual level of imports for that exporting country during a recent 12 month period, and the action taken may remain in place for up to three years only. If the measure is in place for more than one year, growth shall, with one exception, be no less than 6 per cent. In

29、practice, the special safeguard was invoked on 24 occasions in 1995 by the United States, 8 times in 1996 (Brazil 7, US 1), 2 times in 1997 by the United States, and 10 times in 1998 (Colombia 9, US 1).Article 5 of the ATC contains rules and procedures concerning circumvention of the quotas through

30、transshipment, re-routing, false declaration of origin, or falsification of official documents. These require, inter alia , consultation and full cooperation in the investigation of such practices by Members concerned. When sufficient evidence is available, possible recourse might include the denial

31、 of entry of goods. There is also a provision whereby all Members should establish, consistent with their domestic laws and procedures, the necessary legal provisions and/or administrative procedures to addressand take action against circumvention.Administration of restrictions during the transition

32、 period will remain with the exporting Members and any changes in practices, rules or procedures shall be subject to consultations with a view to reaching mutually acceptable solutions (Article 4).Provisions relating to the commitments undertaken in all areas of the Uruguay Round as they relate to t

33、extiles and clothing require that all Members shall take such actions as may be necessary to abide by these rules and disciplines so as to achieve improved market access, to ensure the application of fair and equitable trading conditions and to avoid discrimination against textiles and clothing impo

34、rts (Article 7). If an exporting Member is found not to be complying with its obligations, the Dispute Settlement Body or the Council for Trade in Goods may authorize an adjustment to the quota growth for that country which is otherwise an automatic growth.The Textiles Monitoring Body has been estab

35、lished to supervise the implementation of the ATC and to examine all measures taken under it, to ensure that they are in conformity with the rules. It is a quasi-judicial, standing body which consists of a Chairman and ten TMB members, discharging their function on an ad personam basis and taking al

36、l decisions by consensus. The ten members are appointed by WTO Member governments according to an agreed grouping of WTO Members into constituencies. There can be rotation within the constituencies. These characteristics make the TMB a unique institutionwithin the WTO framework. In January 1995, the General Council decidedupon the composition for the TMB for