Textile Quotas to End, Punishing Carolina Towns

With the global textile quota system coming to an end in early 2005, the potential winners and losers of the previous system are becoming apparent. While several big developing countries specializing in the textiles will have the largest shares of the US$495 billion textile trade regime, others – whether industrialized countries like the US or under-developed countries like Cambodia – will see further withering of their apparel industries. Kannapolis, a North Carolina town, was once booming, with more than 20,000 people employed by apparel factories. Today, however, it is a typical example of an industry "ghost town," complete with deserted factories and lost jobs. While local residents and union leaders urge the government to slow the transition, economists insist that textile quotas must be removed in order to ensure fairness. – YaleGlobal