The EC reaffirms the importance of the cotton initiative at Cancun

In his September 10th 2003 statement on the cotton initiative, EU Trade Commissioner Pascal Lamy recognised the validity of the concerns of west and central African countries. He announced that the EU was willing to 'lend its support to achieving the trade-related objectives of this initiative in the context of the DDA negotiations' and called for all developed-country cotton producers to submit to disciplines on trade-distorting forms of support in the cotton sector. Commissioner Lamy highlighted the importance of the cotton initiative including the market-access dimensions. Comment: While Commissioner Lamy maintained that the EU already allowed LDCs to freely export all originating products including cotton and processed cotton products, this does not mean that there are no market-access issues for the EU to address. The rules of origin applied to clothing and textiles are particularly onerous where this involves mixed fibres as opposed to 100% cotton fabrics. These rules need to be revised and simplified to allow LDC countries to develop a more diversified range of clothing and textile products on the basis of their cotton production (but not exclusively for cotton products). Only if these rules-of-origin issues are addressed will LDCs be able to fully exploit the duty-free preferences extended to them under the EU's EBA initiative.In his September 10th 2003 statement on the cotton initiative, EU Trade..