The role of the ITCB in bringing the ATC to fulfilment, paper read to the 41st Council of Representatives of the International Textile & Clothing Bureau, Bali, April 4-7. I should like to thank the members of the ITCB for inviting the WTO to participate in the 41st session of the ITCB Council of Representatives. It is a particular pleasure for me personally to be present and take part in this session, this time as a WTO official. The ITCB has a special place in my heart. My presence here today is also evidence of the deep personal attention and interest with which the Director-General follows developments in the textiles and clothing sector. I will start by a brief summary of the main events since the New Delhi Council in terms of the implementation of the Agreement on Textiles & Clothing. First, the Major Review of the implementation of the ATC was successfully conducted by the Council for Trade in Goods, in accordance with Article 8.11 of the ATC. As you know, several issues had been raised by ITCB members. Some were related to the implementation of the ATC itself: for example the introduction and maintenance of certain restrictive measures by the European Communities, Turkey and the United States in disregard of ATC disciplines, or the concerns about potential reduction in market access opportunities due to denial of carry forward quotas in 2004 by restraining Members.
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