The impact of multi-fibre agreement phase-out on Sub–Saharan African textiles and clothing exports, IPRA Working Paper 100

This paper analyses exports of textiles and clothing (T&C) from Sub-Saharan African countries in the decade leading to and after a phase out of the Agreement on Textile and Clothing (ATC) (Multi-fibre Agreement restrictions on T&C export)—from 1990s to 2016 using WTO and World Bank data sets—to ascertain the initial effects of the end of quotas and other restrictions on global trade in textile and clothing. Our results show a fall in exports of African countries in the aftermath of the ATC, and a simultaneous and gradual shift of increasing T&C exports by Asian countries (Asia & Pacific) into African markets at a much faster rate than their increase into the U.S. and EU markets.