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If the MFA were to be simply renewed in its present form and applied as in the past, a further 1,600,000 jobs equivalent to half the present work force would disappear between now and 1982, and this is humanly, socially, economically and politically unacceptable to the Community and its Member States.
II.
The net result of this trend is that the Community has been obliged to adopt the following position regarding the renewal of the MFA.
THE IMPORTANCE ATTACHED BY THE COMMUNITY TO THE MFA
1. The Community continues to attach great importance to the MFA, in particular the objectives set out in Article 1 thereof, namely:
the expansion and the progressive liberalisation of world trade
in textile products;
- the orderly and equitable development of this trade and avoidance
of disruptive effects in individual markets and on individual lines
of production in both importing and exporting countries.
2. With regard to the first objective, experience of the application of
the MFA has shown that:
the developing countries, both individually and collectively, have greatly increased their exports;
- the Community has absorbed the bulk of the increase;
the Community has, for its part, advanced in the direction of
liberalisation of trade in textiles.
This objective can therefore be considered to have been substantially
achieved.
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