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Clothing Industries

Abstract

The latest issue contains the article "Has the Clothing Industry adapted to the changing economic environment?" by Yasmin Sheik. The clothing industry consists of establishments engaged in the production of men's, boys', women's, and children's wear as well as furs, foundation garments, hosiery, gloves, sweaters and occupational clothing.

The clothing industry is labour intensive and requires only a limited number of special skills, and therefore it exists in almost every country in the world. In the past, developed countries, including Canada, restricted competition in this sector from low-wage developing countries by the imposition of country-specific import quotas. However, a change in trade policies has resulted in the reduction of trade barriers and increased competition. The Canadian Clothing and Textile industries now fall under the normal trading rules of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and World Trade Organization (WTO) besides being part of the North American rationalization process under the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the United States and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) with the U.S. and Mexico.

Using data from the Annual Survey of Manufactures for 1988 to 1997, this paper will show how the Canadian Clothing Industry has adapted to the changing economic environment. It will also comment on the recent period of growth using the Monthly Survey of Manufacturing and other indicators.

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