Brussels, 14/04/2005 (Agence Europe) - For the European Parliament hearing on 19 April on the future of the clothing and textile sector, the Tunisian minister for industry, Afif Chelbi, a member of the Chinese mission with the EU, Liu Youhou, the president of the European professional federation Euratex, Filiep Libeert, and the president of the EU clothing and textile trade unions, Valeria Fedeli, were expected to attend (see EUROPE 8923 and 8925).
The Mediterranean countries in particular express concern about the end of the quota system agreed at the WTO and the announcements made by the EU on greater access to EU markets by the countries that were affected by the tsunami in December 2004, but, and above all, about the surge of imports from China. Three of these countries - Egypt, Morocco and Tunisia among the most significant EU clients and suppliers - submitted to the Luxembourg EU Council Presidency and to the European Commission during the meeting of senior officials of the Barcelona Process on 12 April a joint memorandum stating their concern about pressure from China and suggesting greater integration of both sides of the Mediterranean. They mainly note that the share of European Union textile exports in world exports fell from 49.4% in 1980 to 34.2% in 2002 to the advantage of China, whose share tripled over the same period from 4.6% to 13.5%, and which would cover 40-50% of EU clothing imports in the run up to 2010 as opposed to 25% in 2001. This situation could become far worse given the increase in Asian exports over the first half of 2005 on the European market, and in light of the fact that the textile-clothing sector is one of the typical Euro-Mediterranean activities because of converging interests and potential, and complementarity and integration in this sector at the level of investment, production, exchange and employment. Several proposals were presented especially by the Commission in the context of the study presented on this subject in December 2003 and the ministerial conference in Tunis (28 September 2004) on the future of the industry. The three countries state that the economic and socio-political importance of this sector and the rise in Asian exports on the European market following the dismantling of the multi-fibre agreements, as well as the irremediable loss of jobs, work in favour of speeding up implementation of the proposals by the Commission and Euro-Mediterranean industry ministers through an emergency unilateral and temporary EU derogation to rules of origin in favour of the Euro-Mediterranean countries concerned pending application of the pan-Euro-Mediterranean cumulation of origin system, transition from sub-contracting to joint contracting, and training and participation in European research and development programmes. They also suggest gradual integration of the sector between north and south of the Mediterranean, encouraging partnership, the creation of affiliates, networks and joint mechanisms in the context of a strategy that combines research, training, production and services in a spirit of solidarity, ownership and co-development. They call on the European Commission to ensure that competition rules are respected, if need be through appropriate safeguard measures, if dialogue with China were to prove ineffective.