THE TRADE RESTRICTIVENESS OF THE MULTIFIBER ARRANGEMENT

This study uses the trade restrictiveness index (TRI) of Anderson and Neary (1990) to evaluate U.S. policy toward seven major exporters of t extiles and apparel under the Multi-Fibre Arrangement (MFA). The perio d covered is 1982-88. The MFA controls the shipment of most textile an d apparel items to the United States through a system of bilaterally n egotiated export quotas that allow for annual growth. The arrangement itself was renegotiated in 1986, with an expansion in the number of it ems covered and countries included. In addition to these policy change s, changes in economic conditions during the data period altered the r estrictiveness of the MFA. The TRI in principle permits all these infl uences to be accounted for in a consistent manner. The TRI results are contrasted with the standard trade-weighted average tariff equivalent of the quotas. The correlation of the two measures is not significant ly different from zero.