ITC recently took part in a one-day conference in Lithuania (Vilnius, September 2001) which was a follow-up to the World Tr@de Net workshop (Riga, May 2001) on the World Trade Organization’s Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC). During the conference, some 200 textile and garment exporters, mainly from the Baltic states, discussed changes in store for international textile and clothing trade when the ATC comes to an end in about three years time.

Today, one of the major concerns of Baltic producers and exporters is their changing role in the marketplace. The European Union (EU) markets remain an attractive target for them, but once their countries become EU members, Baltic exporters will have to follow the EU’s import policy in relation to non-EU countries. At the conference, ITC offered the following solutions: aim to supply relatively small markets (such as the Nordic countries, which should be natural targets) with small and flexible production; and focus on upgrading quality and niche market products to avoid a head-on collision with Asian mass producers.

The participants also learned of ITC’s ongoing activity in this sector as part of the World Tr@de Net programme.

For more information, contact Matthias Knappe, ITC Senior Market Development Officer, at knappe@intracen.org