TNAG-0142-FCO40-178-Long-term-policy-on-International-trade-in-textiles-1969 — Page 228

COTTON TEXTILES

LONG TERM ARRANGEMENT

ANNEX 1

In 1961 the U.S. Administration were under pressure from their

domestic industry to take action against increasing competition from low-

cost cotton textiles.

There was, of course, no way under the G.A.T.T.

for the U.S. to take discriminatory action, and in order to avoid pressure

from Congress to act inconsistently with their G.A.T.T. obligations, the

U.S. Administration took the initiative in calling a meeting between the

major importing countries and the low-oost exporting countries to deal

with the problem on a comprehensive international basis.

2. As a result, an agreement, was reached, to run for a period of 12

months, which provided for the control of cotton textile imports that

were causing (or threatening) market disruption, and also for some

increase in the quotas of those participating countries which still

maintained them. This agreement was intended as a holding operation

only, pending the conclusion of an agreement covering a longer period.

The G.A.T.T. Cotton Textiles Committee was set up both to administer the

short term arrangement and to draw up the text of the long term

arrangement.

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3. ́In October 1962 the Long Term Arrangement on Cotton Textiles came

into operation, for an initial period of five years. It was subsequently

extended to 30th September 1970. Its chief objectives (which were much

the same as its short term predecessor) were:

2.

(a) to strike a balance between the need of developing countries

for growing export markets.

(Article 2 of the Arrangement provided that countries maintaining

restrictions inconsistent with the G.A.T.T. should relax them

progressively each year and undertake to increase quotas by

stated percentages by the end of the validity of the Arrangement.)

/(b) To