In reviewing the progress of the current WTO trade negotiations at the recent COTANCE Spring Council meeting in Bologna, Italy, representatives of Italy (UNIC), Spain (CEC-FECUR), Germany (VDL), France (FFTM), Sweden (SG), United Kingdom (UK Leather Federation), Netherlands (FNL), Belgium (UNITAN) and Hungary (BCE) expressed concern over the risks that the Doha Agreement may not yield the expected benefits for the Leather trade and industry and called for further tariff liberalisation.

COTANCE called on the sector’s global stakeholders to value the merits of a sectoral trade deal based on principles conveyed in the COTANCE 2001 Position and requested their respective governments to negotiate modalities that can implement them.

As those present explained, world trade in the leather sector represents $ 46 billion, ranking amongst the most important internationally traded commodities, however, they added that tariff and non-tariff barriers on imports and exports of the sector’s products constitute an enormous cost handicap for the leather industry world-wide, which consume resources that could be better allocated; adversely distort global trade flows; and interfere in the pricing of supplies.

They stated that tariff liberalisation coupled with an end to export taxes/restrictions on raw materials and intermediate products in mature and emerging markets would bring huge benefits to the leather trade and industry in both developed and developing countries. It would avoid preference erosion for the least developed countries as well as providing them with a real opportunity to grow.

Highlighting the problems currently faced in the European leather industry COTANCE stated that 30% of European leather companies and their workforce have been lost over the last decade due notably to unfair competition from countries maintaining protectionist barriers preventing access to their markets or excluding their raw material markets from international competition with export taxes/restrictions. It added that failure to achieve a firm commitment of trade partners in this WTO Round to open up markets to international competition and to eliminate export taxes/restrictions on raw materials would have significant consequences in the EU leather value chain, its companies and its workforce as well as on the sustainable development of industrial know-how, environmental liability, innovation and R&D.