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.