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EU's trade body supports fight against free access to Pakistan textiles
NEW DELHI:
Europe's biggest clothing and textile body, Euratex, has urged India to continue to block the EU's proposed flood relief package to Pakistan giving duty free access to textiles as it would only help a group of "highly performing" exporters and not the flood victims.
In a letter to commerce secretary Rahul Khullar on April 20, the European textile industry strongly opposed the proposal as there was no economic or humanitarian reason to giving these concessions.
"It is evident that these concessions have no humanitarian objectives and they will not help the people in the flooded areas as the textile and clothing industry of Pakistan is not located in these areas," the letter written by Euratex DG Francesco Marchi said.
Euratex represents the textile and clothing industry in all 27 member countries of the EU.
India, Bangladesh, Peru and Vietnam have blocked EU's plans of giving duty free access to 75 products, 64 of them textiles, at the World Trade Organisation.
The concessions to be given for three years are part of the EU's 900 million Euros package to Pakistan to help the economy deal with destruction caused by last year's floods. The EU needs a waiver from these countries at the WTO to pass on the concessions to Pakistan, as any such concession would be against the rules of the trade agreement that says all members have to be treated alike.
"We have already told the EU that Pakistan should be supported through direct assistance and other carefully chosen instruments that do not affect other competing countries," a commerce department official told ET.
The Indian textile industry, which stands to lose its market share in the bloc if Pakistan is waived the 6%-12% duties on textile products, is apprehensive of the pressure from both the EU and Pakistan.
"Both EU and Pakistan are working on India, since we are the only effective counterforce against the proposal as of now," D K Nair, secretary general, from the Confederation of Indian Textiles Industry (CITI) said.
The EU has sought more time from the WTO.
"The EU has said it will further refine its proposal in consultation with us and other affected members," the commerce department official said. The issue will be discussed by the WTO general council on May 3-4.
India is as of now firm it would not agree to any proposal that helps a specific industry.
Euratex has argued that the floods had no impact on the textiles and clothing industry in Pakistan which continued to serve its EU customers in a normal way in 2010.
"This is visible in the fact that overall Textile and Clothing Imports from Pakistan to the EU have increased by more than 20% in value and by almost 6% in volume between 2009 and 2010," the letter said.
For the products included in the waiver proposal, the increase in value is more than 18% for textiles and over 20% for clothing.
The increase has been much higher for some sensitive products like cotton fabrics and women's denim trousers. India's garments and textiles exports to the EU in 2009 were $5.9 billion while Pakistan's exports were worth $ 2.2 billion.
EU's trade body supports fight against free access to Pakistan textiles - The Economic Times
