Protocol On The Extension Of International Textile Trade Agreement

International Textiles

Confirm the understanding reached in the conclusion of the textiles Committee in December 14, 1977 (the attached copy).

I hereby agree as follows:

1. the validity period of this agreement stipulated in sixteenth articles shall be extended for four years and expires on December 31, 1981.

2. this Protocol shall be deposited with the director general of the State Council of GATT.

The Protocol shall be accepted by all contracting parties of this agreement, and other governments and European countries that have accepted or participated in this agreement in accordance with thirteenth provisions.

3. this Protocol shall take effect from January 1, 1978 on the state that will accept this protocol.

The state that accepts this protocol should take effect from that day.

This protocol was reached in Geneva in December 14, 1977. The original one is equally authentic in its English, French and Spanish texts.

The conclusions of the textiles Committee adopted in December 14, 1977:

1. participants of this agreement exchanged views on the prospects of the multi fibre agreement (i.e. the international textile trade agreement, a plator's note, hereinafter referred to as the "agreement").

2. from the textiles Committee's annual and important comments on this agreement, it is clear that some importing countries and some exporting countries have encountered some practical difficulties in implementing the provisions of this agreement.

The discussions in this regard were generally satisfactory and dissatisfactory.

These difficulties (some of them have a long-term nature) seriously affect the trade and economic development of developing countries.

3. members of the textile Commission recognize that the development trend of world textile trade will still be disappointing. If we do not deal with this situation seriously, it may cause damage to the participating countries of the international textile trade, whether importers or exporters, or both.

This may have an adverse effect on the prospects of international cooperation in the field of textile trade, and may also have adverse effects on general trade relations, especially in developing countries.

4. some participating countries (importing and exporting Member States) believe that the provisions of this agreement need to be amended.

Other countries believe that some of the difficulties occurred are the implementation issues, and the terms of the multi fibre agreement are sufficient to deal with these difficult problems.

The participating countries agree that any serious problems in textile trade should be resolved through consultation and negotiation.

5.. Regarding the so-called urgent import problem mentioned by a major importing country in its statement to the textiles Commission, the textiles Commission believes that such problems should be resolved by bilateral means in accordance with the provisions of fourth or third articles third and fourth.

5. the textiles Committee noted that a major importing participant declared that it was possible to achieve its intended purpose on the basis of bilateral consultations and negotiations, and noted the goodwill and flexibility of certain exporting countries (currently occupied by these countries in the export of textiles made of three kinds of textiles covered by this Agreement).

5.. The Committee agrees that any such consultations and negotiations should be carried out in the spirit of equality and flexibility within the scope of this agreement, so as to achieve mutually acceptable solutions in accordance with the fourth third or third third, fourth, including the possibility of reasonable departure under special circumstances in accordance with special conditions.

5.. The Committee agrees that any such deviation mentioned in paragraph 3 will be provisional and that the participating countries should return to the scope of this agreement within the shortest possible time.

5., at the same time, the Committee urged all participating countries to negotiate immediately with regard to the spirit of this Agreement and mutually acceptable solutions.

5. the Committee confirmed that when exploring such solutions, the interests of developing countries, new participants and small suppliers should be emphasized, and the provisions of the first fourth paragraphs should be kept firmly in mind.

6. the Committee recognizes that some countries with narrow market size and high import levels and relatively low domestic production levels are particularly vulnerable to the trade issues mentioned in the above paragraphs.

Their problems should be solved in a spirit of fairness and flexibility.

For these countries, the provisions of the first second paragraphs should be fully implemented.

7. the Committee reiterates that the two institutions, the textiles Commission and the textiles supervision body of this Agreement shall continue to carry out their work within their respective functions and powers.

8. reiterates that in the course of implementing this agreement, in the context of compliance with this agreement, especially the provisions of the third and sixth paragraphs of Article 1, the special problems of developing countries should be fully taken into account.

9. all participating countries believe that mutual cooperation is the basis of this Agreement and is the basis for solving various problems in the way of promoting the goals and objectives of this agreement.

All participating countries stressed that the main purpose of this agreement is to ensure the expansion of textile trade, in particular the expansion of textile trade in developing countries, the gradual removal of trade barriers and the liberalization of world trade in textiles, while avoiding destructive effects on individual markets and individual production industries in importing and exporting countries.

In this regard, the participating countries believe that in order to ensure the normal functioning of this agreement, all participating countries should avoid taking measures other than the provisions of this Agreement prior to the exhaustion of all remedial measures provided for in this agreement.

10. taking into account the evolution and periodicity of textile trade and the constructive and equal ways conducive to the parties concerned, the importance of giving priority to the settlement of problems to importing countries and exporting countries and based on the elements mentioned in paragraphs 1 to ninth above, the textiles Commission believes that the existing multi fibre agreement should be extended for four years. For this purpose, the confirmation protocol must be signed from December 15, 1977.