Textiles

21.11.2007

ORAL QUESTION WITH DEBATE O-0074/07
pursuant to Rule 108 of the Rules of Procedure
by Gianluca Susta, Ignasi Guardans Cambó and Johan Van Hecke, on behalf of the ALDE Group, Robert Sturdy, Tokia Saïfi, Georgios Papastamkos and Vasco Graça Moura, on behalf of the PPE-DE Group, Erika Mann, Glyn Ford, Kader Arif and Elisa Ferreira, on behalf of the PSE Group, Cristiana Muscardini and Eugenijus Maldeikis, on behalf of the UEN Group, Caroline Lucas and Alain Lipietz, on behalf of the Verts/ALE Group
to the Commission

The WTO Agreement on Textiles and Clothing came to an end in 2005, at which point the last restrictions on textile trade inherited from the Multifiber Agreement lapsed. To manage the transition to free trade in textiles, the European Commission and China concluded a ‘Memorandum of Understanding’ in 2005. That Memorandum will expire on 1 January 2008. As a follow-up, the European side and the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Trade have decided on a system of joint importation surveillance for the year 2008.

 

In that context, could the Commission:

 

–  comment on the likely impact of termination of the quota system, both for the Community industry and for the developing countries concerned, and in particular the EU’s Mediterranean partners;

 

–  indicate how it intends to guarantee the external competitiveness of the European-based textile sector and secure better market access in third countries;

 

–  comment on the follow-up actions it has taken to comply with the mandate given by the ‘High-Level Group’;

 

–  indicate how it envisages taking initiatives to defend the European textile sector from unfair trade and counterfeiting and from a dramatic trade surge of the type experienced in 2005;

 

–  indicate whether any consultations are under way with the United States of America on the issue of textile imports from China;

 

–  explain how the system of joint importation surveillance will be set up, how proper implementation of that twin checking arrangement can be guaranteed, and how it will evaluate its effectiveness;

 

–  indicate how the EC will guarantee that imported textile products, in particular from China, entering the EU market are subjected to identical security and consumer protection requirements as textile products manufactured inside the EU;

 

–  ensure that it keeps the European Parliament fully informed on any significant developments in the context of the international textile trade.

 

 

Tabled: 21.11.2007

Forwarded: 23.11.2007

Deadline for reply: 30.11.2007