Govt accountable for garment industry state, says US Ambassador Dinger

29 Jun '06

1 min read

With the removal of multi-fibre agreement (MFA), Fiji's garment industry collapsed leading to thousands of Fijian's losing their jobs.

US Ambassador to Fiji Larry Dinger explained that Fiji Government should have explored feasibility of other markets to support the local garment industry soon after the MFA phased-out.

To a query that the US had not made arrangements to help developing nations that relied heavily on textiles, the ambassador explained that the situation that took place in Fiji happened all over the world even in countries such as Cambodia and New Zealand.

Earlier, all textile-producing nations were specified a 10-year notice by the US regarding the removal of the MFA.

The agreement had set the rules for international trade in textiles and garments made from cotton, wool and synthetic fibre.

Essentially, to safeguard industries of industrialized countries, the US set quotas limiting the amount of import of textile and clothing from developing to developed countries, thereby controlling the level of market access for developing countries.

Inspite of enormous losses suffered due to removal of MFA, many factories in Fiji that had survived and continued to succeed in the garment industry, reiterated US envoy.

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