欧洲纺织产业竞争力的分析研究外文翻译.docVIP

外文翻译 原文 Insights from research An analysis of European textile sector competitiveness Material Source: /reprints Author: Nicholas Bilalis The European textile-clothing industry includes more than 170,000 firms, in the whole chain of operation from spinning to clothing and retailing, with over 2 million employees. The European Union (EU) clothing and textile industries are characterized by very intense international competition. EU producers face fierce competition from exports of new industrialized countries (NICs), especially from China, whose low wages and social charges give them a considerable competitive advantage. Labor costs probably represent the most important cost factor in the manufacture of clothing, where labor remains the determining element in the production process. In addition, until 1994, the textiles and clothing industry fell under the legal force of the United Nation’s Multifibre Arrangement-MFA (UN, 1981), which enabled each country to impose quantitative quotas on imports of textile and clothing products. The following decade the MFA was replaced by the World Trade Organization’s Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC) (WTO, 1994), which set out a transitional process for the final removal of the quotas policy. On 1 January 2005 the protective umbrella of the ATC was lifted and national governments can no longer apply quantitative restrictions in the flow of the textile products. These agreements have contributed to the creation of a new business landscape and textile companies throughout Europe and elsewhere can no longer rely on intergovernmental bilateral agreements in order to ensure long-term growth. This paper presents the results of an analysis of the European textile sector competitiveness. The analysis is based on an industrial excellence model developed by INSEAD. This model has been used for the last ten years in an annual award, given out in France and Germany. In brief, industrial excellence is the basis for the efficient operati