Local view for "http://purl.org/linkedpolitics/eu/plenary/2005-09-29-Speech-4-034"
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"en.20050929.3.4-034"2
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".
Mr President, I wish to begin by expressing my gratitude for the congratulations and also for the understanding that has been shown for the difficulties of the situation. I am also grateful for the concerns and critical remarks that have been voiced. I have already addressed some of these in my introductory remarks. The Commission is prepared to learn from the situation and to take on board all relevant concerns and criticisms.
Of course, we cannot extend the quotas after 2008, but as far as other solutions like outsourcing are concerned, my answer is 'yes'. However, the real solution is to further strengthen the competitiveness of the European textile industry through research, innovation and investment, but certainly not at the expense of environmental protection and environmental standards. But we will urge, encourage and help China to respect these same standards, as well as urging it to respect ILO standards. So, we understand the situation in its full complexity.
These were the most important points raised during the debate. In the limited time available, of course, I cannot answer all the questions raised.
When we deal with China, we of course take into consideration the geopolitical aspects and the important role China plays in the world. However, in this particular case, we are giving preference to the aspects of trade policy, the interests of our textile industry and even to the possible social consequences of the situation. Our trade policy vis-à-vis China – the memorandum of understanding and even the agreed minutes – are aimed at establishing a sustainable future for the European textile and clothing industry, which is basically competitive. We are very strong in upmarket products, for instance, and we are the second largest exporter of textile and clothing products in the world. The memorandum of understanding has given our textile and clothing industry additional time to prepare for the challenges it faces.
Measures are also aimed at protecting the interests of the Maghreb states, as well as those poor developing countries which export textile and clothing products. The work on the reform of the rules of origin and origin-marking, which is being considered by the Commission, is also intended to help the developing countries.
Concerning the problems of implementation of the memorandum of understanding and the question of whether the Commission acted too late and lost time before May 2005, I would remind you that we first had to evaluate the situation and examine the quotas. Some Member States were late in submitting or providing the necessary information.
It is true that there has been a huge stockpile of textile products and there were many reasons for that. One of the reasons is that it occurred in a short period between the signing of the memorandum of understanding and its entry into force, and some importers even put in orders in an attempt – ultimately unsuccessful – to block the system. At the end of the day, we had to apply a flexible solution, which was the advance use of the quotas for 2006, but of course this did not result in any increase in the quantity of the textile products which China will be able to export.
The agreed minutes and the monitoring will prevent similar problems, similar bottlenecks, and the Commission regularly makes the quotas public in order to inform importers.
Many speakers referred to the burning issue of counterfeiting and there is no question that the Commission is firmly committed to combating it. I want to refer to the customs cooperation agreement we signed with China, which entered into force this spring and for which we have high expectations.
As far as the prospects for the European textile and clothing industry are concerned, several questioners asked whether the industry needs protection. My answer is 'yes' and the measures concerned appear to be good enough, although we are prepared to review them.
One measure, for instance, is the ongoing anti-dumping investigation on footwear. In reply to another question raised, Chinese garments are subject to the same provisions as EU products."@en1
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