Will There Be Free Trade in Textiles

Sanjoy Bagchi THE inclusion of trade in textiles as a subject for negotiations in the Uruguay Round was itself an achievement. Since 1961, textile trade has been governed by a separate set of rules, permitting the application of discriminatory quotas, in violation of the GATT's cardinal principle of nondiscriminatory treatment. The separate set began with a Short Term Arrangement for trade in cotton textiles. It was soon converted into a Long Term Arrangement for five years which was twice renewed for terms of three years ending in 1973. A new arrangement -the MFA-came into existence in 1974, extending the coverage of discriminatory quotas from cotton textiles to wool and manmade fibres. The MFA remained in. force, after several renewals, until the end of 1994. In between, the coverage was further expanded in 1986 to include products made of vegetable fibres other then cotton.