ACTIF is a pan-African textile association and represents textile and apparel associations from 13 African nations, including Botswana, Egypt, Ethiopia, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
ACTIF also noted that hundreds of thousands of recently created textile and apparel jobs in Africa are threatened by devastating tariff cuts proposed by China and other countries under a Swiss Formula approach in the industrial products classification.
Cass Johnson, President of NCTO, said, “The addition of ACTIF to our efforts represents a growing chorus of voices that insist their textile and apparel sectors not be handed over to China or other countries seeking to eliminate textile trade preference programs. The Hong Kong Ministerial must not be a guise for dis-enfranchising millions of workers in Africa and the Western Hemisphere that depend on textiles and apparel for their livelihoods.”
The groups noted that only in a separate textile sectoral negotiation can the need for a special safeguard or other compensating mechanism against China's unfair trade practices be discussed. Prior to the introduction of safeguards earlier this year, Chinese textile and apparel exports to the US and EU market increased by $9 billion while exports from developing countries decreased by $5 billion.
In the WTO draft text issued by Director General Lamy recently, it stated that a textile and apparel sectoral was now under active discussion by member states. However, the draft text also contained language that would grant Bangladesh duty-free, quota-free access for textile products. Since quotas were removed, exports of textile and apparel products from Bangladesh to the United States have increased by more than $400 million, while African exports have declined by almost $50 million.
NCTO's mission is focused on creating powerful alliances and coalitions to advance the interests of the US textile sector. As an organization, it is unrivaled in its composition which allows each segment of the industry to have a vote in determining NTCO policy.
The National Council of Textile Organizations
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