Industry leaders to meet in Geneva

On September 21 / 22 over 70 representatives (all members of the World Trade Organisation) from more than 30 trade associations will attend te first-ever meeting of major textile and apparel industries. The conference is being held in Geneva at the initiative of Euratex (the European Apparel and Textile Organisation). It is the intention that the conference will provide participants with an opportunity to assess the implications for the industry worldwide of negotiations currently underway as part of the new WTO trade round relating to tariff and non-tariff barriers for textile and clothing products.

High on the list of topics will be the WTO's Doha Development Agenda , issues of market access through to and beyond the expiry of the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC) end 2004, and the nature of the global trading environment for the industry from 2005 onwards. It is anticipated that the conference delegates will attempt to arrive at a consensus on the challenges facing the industry as well as identifying means to manage them.

Trade in the world's textile and clothing industries in 2000 was estimated to be worth two hundred and ninety billion US dollars. Employment in the industry worldwide is estimated at around 30 million people.