Quota Elimination is an initiative to eliminate the use of

quotas Quota may refer to: Economics * Import quota, a trade restriction on the quantity of goods imported into a country * Market Sharing Quota, an economic system used in Canadian agriculture * Milk quota, a quota on milk production in Europe * Indi ...

in all

textile Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabric types, etc. At first, the word "textiles" only referred to woven fabrics. However, weaving is not the ...

and

clothing Clothing (also known as clothes, apparel, and attire) are items worn on the body. Typically, clothing is made of fabrics or textiles, but over time it has included garments made from animal skin and other thin sheets of materials and natural ...

trade between nations which are members of the

World Trade Organization The World Trade Organization (WTO) is an intergovernmental organization that regulates and facilitates international trade. With effective cooperation in the United Nations System, governments use the organization to establish, revise, and ...

(WTO). Doing so was one of the key commitments undertaken at the WTO

Uruguay Round The Uruguay Round was the 8th round of multilateral trade negotiations (MTN) conducted within the framework of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), spanning from 1986 to 1993 and embracing 123 countries as "contracting parties". The R ...

in 1994 to retire the

Multi Fibre Arrangement The Multi Fibre Arrangement (MFA) governed the world trade in textiles and garments from 1974 through 1994, imposing quotas on the amount developing countries could export to developed countries. Its successor, the Agreement on Textiles and Clothin ...

. The ATC, that is the WTO Agreement on Textile and Clothing, is the regulation governing textile and clothing and implements this commitment. The agreement established a ten-year period which would eliminate the use of quotas in all textile and clothing trade between WTO nations. It expired on December 31, 2004. As of January 1, 2005, the garment and fabric trade worldwide is operating without quotas. To ensure the respect of

bilateral Bilateral may refer to any concept including two sides, in particular: *Bilateria, bilateral animals *Bilateralism, the political and cultural relations between two states *Bilateral, occurring on both sides of an organism ( Anatomical terms of l ...

textile agreements, goods shipped prior to January 1, 2005 and subject to the 2004 quotas will be subject to the import regime of 2004 even if they are presented to customs after January 1. To avoid excessive burdens on trade and customs, as of April 1, 2005, all garments and fabrics will trade freely into the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been de ...

(EU). Although the quotas have been eliminated, the regulation also sets up a statistical monitoring system for the imports of textiles and clothing into the EU. This system is to provide information regarding the chance of market disruptions and will allow for the governing body to closely follow the trade in this new environment. This regulation is beneficial for

Canadian Canadians (french: Canadiens) are people identified with the country of Canada. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Canadians, many (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of ...

clothing and fabric manufacturers because now there are fewer restrictions. It is hoped by some that this ruling will open up the

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

an market in the near future. Benefits of the abolition of quotas are also expected to textile companies in India and Pakistan.

References

{{World Trade Organization World Trade Organization Textile industry Quotas