Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-02-23-Speech-3-222"
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"en.20050223.17.3-222"2
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".
Mr President, Mrs Morgantini, Mr Barón Crespo, I think that the question you have asked is actually not unrelated to the debate we have just had. If there is one sector that is in the avant-garde of globalisation, as it were, it is the textiles sector. For decades now we have been noticing the extent to which the international division of labour has changed in the textiles sector in particular.
With regard to the use of safeguard clauses, Parliament considered, in its resolution of January 2004 on the future of the textile and clothing sector in the EU, that there was a need to set up a clear, rapid and transparent procedure concerning the WTO general safeguard clauses and the special clauses applying to China under the Protocol on China's accession to the WTO. The High Level Group also requested more detailed information in this regard from the Commission. At the moment, it appears that the Commission is prepared to meet expectations in this respect, since it is going to draft guidelines governing the procedures regarding safeguard measures.
Finally, with respect to the impact of the expiry of the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing on developing countries and the measures that the European Union could take under Articles 177 and 178 of the Treaty, let me start by citing two of the three objectives of our development cooperation, as set out in the Treaty: the sustainable development of the developing countries, and more particularly the most disadvantaged among them; and the integration of the poorest countries into the world economy.
The European Union's trade policy obviously takes account of these objectives, as required by Article 178 of the Treaty. The realisation of the Doha Development Round and the way in which the Doha Development Agenda is developing are just one more example of this.
Let me also remind you, with regard more specifically to the expiry of the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing, that the end of quotas and the integration of trade in textiles and clothing into the GATT were one of the main demands of the developing countries during the Uruguay Round. It is true that, since it joined the WTO, China has seen a constant increase in its share in the international textile and clothing trade. China's continuing growth, which is already significant, may be achieved at the detriment of a number of weak and vulnerable developing countries, as Members have stressed.
In this regard, the direction that the Council is taking is clear, and I would like to quote again from the conclusions I referred to earlier: 'the Council supports a GSP scheme that will be targeted at countries most in need, such as the least developed countries and the most vulnerable developing countries in order to help them play a greater role in international trade’. In this context, the situation resulting from the removal of textiles from the quota system will also be examined during the discussions on the new GSP scheme. Moreover, it is this new GSP scheme, known as 'GSP Plus', which should in principle be finalised by the end of March in order to enter into force
at the beginning of April. This issue has also repeatedly been brought up during the EU-China Textiles Dialogue, initiated on 6 May 2004. During the last meeting held as part of this dialogue, in December 2004, we had the impression, for the first time, that the Chinese authorities had started to understand the problem and the European Union's message, because they announced measures favouring a number of developing countries. It remains to be seen how effective these measures will be. The Council will continue to monitor carefully all the changes facing this market.
With regard to measures favouring the European Union's textiles and clothing industry, the Council has been insistent in calling on the Commission to take a greater interest in the strategic sectors, namely innovation, including non-technological innovation, and the development of industrial cooperation with the Euro-Mediterranean partners. We need to focus on higher value-added products, for one thing, and on industrial cooperation with complementary partners in developing countries, for another. I would add to this the opening up of markets, in particular the Chinese market, to this type of European product.
In order to supplement these general guidelines, we need to leave a certain amount of room for manoeuvre with regard to the rules of origin, which will make it possible to improve the situation of the developing countries that export textiles and clothing. At the beginning of January 2004, the Commission presented to the Council a Green Paper entitled 'The future of rules of origin in preferential trade arrangements'. The Council will be sure to examine any legislative proposal that the Commission may submit to it on this subject when the time comes.
Indeed, you raise some important issues that affect not only Europe but also its partners, especially those on the southern shores of the Mediterranean, as demonstrated by this morning's debate on the constant development of production and the delocalisation of textiles manufacturing. I think this is a very important issue. In addition, the Council has in recent years continuously monitored the situation in the European textiles and clothing industry as it has changed in response to the phasing out of quotas on imports of textiles and clothing from WTO Member States.
Two sets of Council conclusions, adopted in response to two communications from the Commission in 2003 and 2004, demonstrate this concern, amongst other things. With regard, in general, to the gradual move towards a quota-free system, it has to be said that this is not an unexpected event. In fact, as I am sure Parliament knows, the end of four decades of heavily regulated trade in textiles and clothing comes as no surprise at all.
The implementation and expiry of the Agreement on Textile and Clothing form an integral part of the results of the Uruguay Round concluded in 1994. Since then, it has been clear that as from 1 January 2005 the textiles and clothing sector would be fully integrated into the framework of Article 9 of GATT 1994. All over the world, all those involved, including of course the European textiles and clothing industry, knew that this was coming.
The Commission, for its part, adopted a set of seven actions to deal with this new quota-free environment. As the Commissioner for Enterprise and Industry stated when this plan was adopted, whether at EU, national or regional level, we need to provide the sector with conditions that will enable it to improve its competitiveness and to remain a key industry for the EU, which is what you also called for, Mr Barón Crespo.
In its conclusions of 25 and 26 November 2004, the Council stated that it supported the Commission's strategy for the textiles and clothing sector, which focuses on competitiveness linked to research and innovation, training and better skills, protection of intellectual property rights, access to third country markets and encouraging the development of strategies for the textiles industry in the Euro-Mediterranean zone.
The Council considers the Commission's package of measures to be appropriate. It has also urged the Commission to allow the High Level Group for Textiles and Clothing to continue its work. In addition, it has invited the Commission to regularly inform the Council about developments in the EU textiles and clothing sector in the aftermath of the dismantling of import quotas as from 1 January 2005; and it has also invited the Commission to report on the outcome of the further discussions of the High Level Group.
As regards the High Level Group's recommendations on the growth of imports from China, which is indeed a top-priority concern, the Council recognises that the Commission has stated that it is prepared to use the trade defence instruments available to it, if the legal conditions are met and if such an approach is actually necessary. I would like to add that our relations with China are indeed also important in this particular area. We are anxious to integrate China into international trade rules, which is why we have made every effort to bring them into the WTO. We now need to ensure that they respect these rules, and also other less formal rules regarding, for example, social protection and social standards. It is a subject that we will have to discuss with China.
These legal conditions have very recently been changed in order to transpose the lifting of quotas into Community law. The Council adopted a Regulation to this end on 13 December 2004. Council Regulation 2200/2004 thus marks the end of the Agreement on Textile and Clothing as far as the European Union is concerned, and it also provides for a surveillance system to be put in place as of 1 January 2005 to monitor imports of the most sensitive textiles and clothing. This system will provide customs-based surveillance of imports of liberalised products of all origins and will include a requirement to issue an import surveillance document for imports of certain products from China. This requirement will be lifted in 2005, once the customs-based surveillance system is fully operational. This information will be published at least once a month."@en1
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