Addressing the Impact of Phasing out of the Textiles and Clothing Quotas on Nepal
Without Public-Private Partnership in the post Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC) era, Nepalese textiles and clothing (T&C) exports will continue to fall, putting further pressures on the economy, employment and other human development aspects of the country. The participants at the Project Launch Meeting titled Addressing the Impact of Phasing out of the Textiles and Clothing Quotas on Nepal stressed that the government should work together with the private sector and other stakeholders groups, including trade union, to develop a national strategy to address the challenges arising due to the removal of quotas on T&C products.
Delivering his inaugural speech at the meeting, Honourable Dr Champak Pokhrel, Member, National Planning Commission, said, "The T&C sector has been playing a significant role in export trade, employment generation and development aspects of the Nepalese economy." Mentioning the challenges facing the country's T&C sector, he added, "Solutions are not simple; we need to work together at different levels to address the challenges and lead to a sustained growth through the promotion of the T&C industries."
Dr Manual F. Montes, Regional Programme Coordinator at the UNDP Regional Office, Colombo, made his remarks from the Asian perspective. He was of the view that efforts should be made to cross-fertilise the ideas and experiences in Asian countries. He stressed that some Asian countries, such as India and China, are benefiting from the phasing out of quotas and that taking lessons from them could help Nepal to adopt appropriate strategies for the promotion of the T&C sector in the long run. He also said that Nepal should make every effort to strengthen the T&C sector if it intends to integrate this sector into its development strategies.
The participants said that the country should develop strategies to mitigate the threats emerging in the post ATC period at both national and international level. At the national level, efforts should be made to address the supply side constraints. At the international level, the country should explore further possibilities for capitalising on the existing market access opportunities while at the same time seeking other avenues for market access such as "more favourable" terms of trade from countries like the US and the EU.
In light of Nepal's accession to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and the expiry of ATC leading to removal of quotas on T&C products on 31 December 2004, South Asia Watch on Trade, Economics & Environment (SAWTEE) and ActionAid Nepal (AAN), in association with the UNDP Regional Centre, Colombo, launched the project today. The project, which will be implemented for one and a half years, aims to assist the government in creating an enabling environment for the sustainable growth of the T&C sector and the promotion of human development.
More than 50 participants, representing different stakeholder groups, including the private sector, media, civil society and government ministries, participated in the meeting.
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