OTEXA- WTO (World Trade Organization)
WTO (WORLD TRADE ORGANIZATION)
The World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Textiles and
Clothing (the Agreement) provides for the phased liberalization
and elimination over the transition period of quotas on textiles
and apparel imported from WTO member countries. The Agreement was approved as part
of the Uruguay Round Agreements Act by the U.S. Congress in
December, 1994. The Agreement went into effect on January 1,
1995.
Article 2 of the Agreement states that product integration,
including the phase out of Multi-Fiber Agreement (MFA) quotas
and the acceleration of quota growth rates for products not
yet integrated into the WTO, is to occur over 10 years, in
three stages. ("Integrated" products are removed from the
universe of textile products subject to MFA-type quotas.)