Textile body meets for post-quota issues

Planning Commission Member NK Singh, Commerce Secretary Deepak Chatterjee and Textiles Secretary SB Mohapatra opened the conference discussions with reminders on the size of the Indian market for textiles and the benefits of a “fair and dmarket-oriented” trading system.“The textiles and clothing industry will have to be aware of the new rules of the game and new forms of protectionism that will arise and which will be prepared to face them,” KM Chandrashekhar, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of India to the WTO, also chairman of ITCB said at the inaugural.

The ITCB meeting will last five days during which members will deliberate on how the next round of consultations can help defend the crucial interests of developing nations that are at stake from the removal of the quota system.

“The attempt must be to ensure that the entire results of the Uruguay round of negotiations are not reversed,” Deepak Chatterjee said.

The consensus at the inaugural was that developing countries should not flinch from welcoming in a quota-free textile and clothing regime from January 1, 2005.

“There was once a perception that quotas support growth and protect developing countries’ interests. But in the long term it is in the interest of developing nations to welcome a quota-free regime. Industry should collectively resist pressure to postpone the liberalisation in textiles,” said Chatterjee.The textiles industry is worth US$ 350 bn and is expected to grow further due to the liberalisation. In India, it contributes 8 per cent of the Central Excise Revenues and is 24 per cent of the total exports.

“The industry is also the second biggest employer in the country and considering India is also the fifth largest producer of man-made yarn and the largest exporter of jute, as well as second largest silk producer, liberalisation will only grow its employment base and increase accruals to economy,” Mohapatra said.