Textile Execs Lobby D.C.

July 23, 2004 -- In the largest lobbying effort by the textile industry in Washington in more than 15 years, more than 100 textile CEO?s and representatives lobbied 48 House and Senate offices from more than 25 states. Their message was clear: Reassess the elimination of global textile quotas and prevent China from taking away the vital textile and apparel industries at home and abroad.

?The phase-out of quotas starting on Jan. 1, 2005, will have a devastating effect, and job losses around the world could be as high as 30 million,? Alan Gant, chairman of the National Council of Textile Organizations, said during a news conference. ?We are about raising that flag as an issue.?

On the international front, it has been confirmed that Mauritius has sent a request to the World Trade Organization (WTO) to call for a special WTO session to examine the impact of the phase-out of the quotas and that the 70-member African-Caribbean-Pacific Group of Nations has voted to back this request.

Staff contact: Peter Orwick, ext. 33

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