Mr. William (Bill) LAKIN
Director General European Apparel and Textile Organisation
He holds a Master of Arts degree from the University of Sheffield, England, in Modern Languages and Economics. Following a short period teaching English to students in Paris, he joined the staff of the International Wool Textile Organisation (IWTO) in 1969.
EURATEX has been involved deep in the vortex of issues related to textile industry and its development in Europe. Can you brief us on its history and its core activities?
EURATEX was founded in 1996 as a merger between organizations representing the textile industry, the clothing industry and a group of large vertically integrated companies. Its core activities are all designed to enhance the overall environment for the industry, to encourage manufacturing within the enlarged EU and its members around the Mediterranean rim - of which Turkey is the most important - and to ensure the respect of international agreements entered into by the EU. Its activities cover international trade, Research and Development, Intellectual Property Rights, the environment, social affairs, and the dissemination of economic and statistical data.
Currently, the European Textile industry overcame the crisis of blocking of textiles from China. What is the association's perspective about the entire episode?
It is self-evident that we felt the need for action early in the year when we saw the first effects of China's exports in numerous product categories following the end of quotas. Not only were volumes steepling, but prices were falling, in many cases to totally absurd levels. These were simply not economically justifiable. We do not therefore see the crisis as being overcome, and we will continue to act in those areas where similar situations arise, whether the exporting country should be China or any other.
Published on: 17/11/2005
DISCLAIMER: All views and opinions expressed in this column are solely of the interviewee, and they do not reflect in any way the opinion of Fibre2Fashion.com.
