20000324

Argentina lifts ban on Pak woven, other fabrics

MUZAFFAR QURESHI

KARACHI: Argentina has withdrawn the ban on import of woven and other fabrics from Pakistan and has pledged to remove restrictions on import of sheeting fabrics Cat-613-617-627 from January 1, 2001.

The decision was conveyed to the Chairman of Textile Monitoring Body of WTO by the permanent representative of Argentina in Geneva. He said that the Government of Argentina would comply with the recommendation of Textile Monitoring Body as contained in document No. G/TMB/22.

Accordingly transitional safeguard measures applied by Argentina on the following six categories shall stand removed:

Category 218: Woven fabrics of yarns of different colours,

Category 219/220: Duck/special-Weave fabrics,

Category 224: pile tufted fabrics,

Category 313/317: Sheeting twill fabric.

The Argentina representative further informed that the safeguard measures imposed on Sheeting fabrics/twill and satiny staple-filament fibre combinations in Categories 613/617/627 will also be removed after one and a half year i.e. January 2001.

The Ministry of Commerce has requested the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) to administer the textile exports quota to Argentina accordingly.

It may be pointed out that Pakistan strongly contested the ban on imports of certain fabrics from Pakistan in the Textile Monitoring Body of WTO in Geneva which forced Argentina to lift import curbs in six categories with the promise to remove the ban on remaining three categories in January 2001.