The Hindu Business Line : `WTO insensitive to crisis engulfing textile industry'

THE textile and clothing industries worldwide are engulfed in a crisis under the impact of the liberalised trade but the WTO remains `insensitive' to this, the International Textiles, Garment and Leather Workers' Federation (ITGLWF) has charged.

The Brussels-based ITGLWF, which has been time and again highlighting on the potential job-losses the globalised textile trade regime under the WTO is to mete out to several textile industry-dependent economies in the world, has noted in a statement the current crisis is not just a trade issue but a major threat to the world economy.

"Today, the textile/clothing industry is in crisis with up to 30 million jobs under threat as the textile manufacturing relocates to China. Europe alone is losing one thousand jobs a day and 10 per cent of Cambodia's and Lesotho's clothing industry is lost since the trade liberalisation began from January 2005. Tunisia faces loss of 40 per cent of its industry and one multinational company's decision to quit Morocco for China would render 10,000 workers jobless there," said Mr Neil Kearney, General Secretary of ITGLWF, in his statement sent to Business Line.

"But even as the crisis rocks the textiles and clothing industries, the WTO sits on its hands, forcing the European Union and the US to take unilateral safeguard action. On this issue, the WTO has truly proved itself the most insensitive, unresponsive and most useless of the international institutions," Mr Kearney further added.

According to ITGLWF, 120 million workers directly or indirectly rely on the sector for their livelihood. Textiles/clothing is the bedrock of industrial employment in many countries. In many others, it is the engine of development.

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