ICT Doctrine on Freedom of Trade
1
PRINCIPLES OF THE DOCTRINE
The International Council of Tanners aims at the orderly development
of world leather production so as to achieve maximum added value
in every country through the greatest possible freedom of trade
based upon truly competitive principles. In principle the ICT
is opposed to protectionism but recognises that countries which
are building up industries based upon their material resources
may need to give these industries special protection and/or
incentives. Such protection and incentives will distort the
normal pattern of competition and therefore must be limited
in duration. The ICT is opposed to any increase in protectionism
and urges its members to fight against added protectionism nationally,
regionally and internationally. It accepts, however, that a
limited degree of protection generally may be the only practicable
target and therefore its members should act in the spirit of
the ICT Doctrine, should actively undertake to reduce protection
progressively as far as practicable and should oppose new controls.
The International Council of Tanners accepts that
i)
all tanners should have the maximum unrestricted access to their
primary product and that therefore no country should protect
the totality of its primary resources;
ii)
there should be the maximum unrestricted access to leather markets
and that therefore duties and non-tariff barriers on leather
imports should be progressively reduced and eventually abolished
on a similar proportion of the market as in i);
iii)
there should be maximum unrestricted access to leather product
markets and duties and non-tariff barriers on imports of leather
products should be progressively reduced and eventually abolished
to the same extent as in i) and ii);
iv)
that hides and skins supply is generally dependent upon meat
production and that therefore an increase in meat production
and trade will lead to greater hide and skin availability.
2
TIMETABLE FOR IMPLEMENTATION
To avoid the imbalances caused by protectionism policies
by both developed and developing countries, the ICT agrees
that ground rules are necessary to achieve this healthy and
fair international trade development. Such ground rules should
be established in a two-part but not necessarily simultaneous
programme of progressive removal of restrictions on access
to markets at all stages and of progressive removal of export
and import duties. the ICT therefore resolves that member
countries should
A)
allow access to at least 15% of their market by 1984 or sooner
and to at least 25% by the end of 1989 or sooner (export percentage
should be based on fair average production and import percentage
on fair average consumption;
B)
progressively remove export or import duties on the percentages
in A) over the next ten years or sooner.
3
PUBLICISING TO GOVERNMENTS
The ICT will inform governments of member countries of
this Doctrine directly and member associations will make similar
approaches to their own governments.
June 1981
ICT has lobbied hard for freedom of trade within the hide,
skin, and leather sector. Together with ICHSLTA, a joint statement
was issued in June 1996:
JOINT DECLARATION ON FREEDOM OF TRADE
It is now 15 years since the International Council of Tanners
published its original statement on orderly development of
world leather production. This was followed, in 1983, by a
joint policy statement on over-capacity endorsed by ICT and
the International Council On Hide, Skin and Leather Traders
Associations. In 1992 ICHSLTA reiterated its call for immediate
moves towards elimination of all existing barriers to a free
and fair trade in hides, skins, and leather.
At their Council meetings held in Hong Kong during April
1996, both organisations repeated their pleas for all governments
to remove quotas and restrictions from both import and export
trade in this sector, namely, items covered by Chapter 41
of the World Customs Organisation. Similarly, export and import
taxes on the Chapter 41 commodities, which distorts trade,
should be removed, or, at least, reduced to nominal levels.
Over a 15 year period comparable to that since the ICT doctrine
was first issued, world trade in untanned hides and skins
has risen 18% by volume and 60% by value, to be worth USD
4.3 billion annually. Similarly, trade in leather has increased
140% by volume and 240% by value, to USD 9.5 billion annually.
However, as a report by the UN`s Food and Agriculture Organisation
has stated:
"Trade barriers have reduced trade in the sector by
as much as USD 2.5 billion annually"
FAO's intergovernmental forum on Hides & Skins also:
"considers it important to continue its efforts to raise
awareness of the damage caused to world trade by these restrictions,
and to encourage reduction of these barriers in the long term".
ICT and ICHSLTA concur with this view but consider that trade
restrictions have an equally adverse effect on Developed and
Developing Countries, two of which are now to be counted among
the world`s largest leather producers. Thus the impetus for
product improvement for the benefit of the consumer will,
we believe, be best served by the immediate removal of all
impediments on free and fair trade in this sector, whether
they be subsidies, export licencing regimes, import/export
quotas or taxes of all types.
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