ABSTRACT
The Multifiber Arrangement (MFA), like its predecessor agreements, is akin in many respects to a system of orderly marketing agreements (OMAs). In the early 1950s the United States (US) textile industry was faced with market adjustment problems precipitated by excess capacity in cotton textiles, the shift to synthetic fibers, and technological changes, and by increased imports of certain cotton textile products from Japan. Multilateral discussions designed to reorder textile trade in accordance with these objectives were initiated by the United States and held under the auspices of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) beginning 16 June 1961. The outcome was the first of a series of multilateral arrangements known as the Short Term Cotton Textile Arrangement (STA), which went into effect for one year beginning 1 October 1961. A multifiber agreement was reached on 20 December 1973 by some fifty governments.
