During the week, Jordan, Mauritius, Sri Lanka, and Tunisia expressed support for Turkey, which claims the support of several more Members for its approach.
In its paper, Turkey said that textiles and clothing merited special treatment "since the economies of developing countries are highly dependent on those sectors," noting that in many developing and least-developed countries, they account for close to 80 percent of exports and 50 percent of employment.
Several countries that benefit from preferential access to rich country textiles markets feel that sharp tariff cuts could erode the value of their preferences, and leave them unable to compete on the global market.
Textiles manufacturers from several WTO Member countries, including the US, have long been lobbying for shallow tariff cuts of the sort envisioned by Turkey. Nevertheless, the US has yet to make up its mind on the Turkish initiative. US Trade Representative Rob Portman did not rule out support for the proposal on 28 March, referring to it as "constructive."
Lamy, for his part, told journalists on 28 March that partially exempting textiles and clothing from tariff cuts would "be very strange," and said that "a large part of the Members" shared his view. "This would be a new animal - a NAMA-minus -- in a negotiation where we have always structured the thing so that there may be NAMA-plus," he said.
Geneva based International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD) is a principal member of the Trade Knowledge Network (TKN); and the Frati Initiative on Intellectual Property and Development; and a founding member of the Geneva Environment Network (GEN); Concerted Action on Trade and Environment (CAT&E) and the Grupo Zapallar (GZ).
International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development
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