Think-tank

Abstract

After the likely demise of the Multifibre Arrangement and after the Uruguay Round, new plans to decide the future for the rules of international trade in textiles and clothing are in the hands of the bureaucrats in Geneva. In this survey article the history of the MFA and the present situation with regard to the size of textile imports into European countries is surveyed. Progress in the textile issue has been particularly slow and some reasons for this are found. The momentum for change is increased by the freedom of trade with new low-cost countries in Eastern Europe.