Overview
The Uruguay Round's 1995 Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC) mandated the
phase-out of import quotas sanctioned for decades under agreements like the
1974 Multi-Fiber Arrangement (MFA). These quotas are scheduled for complete
removal by 2005, and their elimination could bring significant changes in fiber
and textile trade in the next few years. Having access to bilateral trade data
across the various products within the fiber-textile sector lays the foundation
for better understanding of trade patterns and can underpin analyses of potential
changes as the policy environment evolves. This database provides information
about source-destination trade flows among 42 exporting and importing country/regions
on 43 fiber, textile, and clothing product aggregates on an annual basis from
1992 through 2002.
Features
The World
Bids Farewell to the Multifiber Arrangement (MFA) (February
2006) describes the genesis and consequences of the MFA, and
the impacts of its removal. China, India, and Pakistan are
the cotton-textile-exporting countries expected to benefit
most from
the MFA’s demise. However, global cotton use is largely
being driven by other factors, such as income growth. For the
full report, see The
Forces Shaping World Cotton Consumption After the Multifiber
Arrangement (April 2005).
The September 2004 Amber Waves data feature, The
Changing World Network of Trade in Textiles and Apparel,
highlights recent changes in the nature of textile and clothing
trade and draws implications about
the impact of complete MFA quota removal, scheduled for January
1, 2005.
Documentation
The Documentation for
this database contains information on the source and availability
of global trade data, product categories and coverage, and countries
and regions. Also
included is a discussion of inconsistencies in reported imports
and exports and the methodology for reconciling bilateral trade
flows.
How to Use the Database
This page provides information on How
to Use the Database using a question and answer format.
Each sample question is followed by the steps necessary to retrieve
data from the database.
See Charts
Query the Database
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