The Impact of the Removal of the Multi-Fiber Arrangements on Tunisian Textile and Clothing Exports

To evaluate the effect of the dismantling of the Multi-Fiber Arrangements on the Tunisian exporting textile and clothing sector, we divided the suppliers of the EU into three groups: local suppliers, constrained by the contingent, and non-constrained, among them figure Tunisia. In the same way, we used Armington’s technique, which consists in differentiating the products by country of origin. The results showed that with the abolition of the quotas, the second group succeeded in increasing its exported quantity by 50%, and attended an increase in value of 30% for its sales. On the contrary, the third group saw its exported quantities decreasing by 30%, and the value of its sales outside, by 16%. Tunisia belonging to the third group would see its share of market, which was ensured by the quotas decreasing appreciably. It would lose 16% of its exports in value, and 30% in quantity. The implications of the results for the Tunisian textile and clothing sector strategies are discussed.

Ben Soltane BassemEmail: