Archives


 Vol.6 

National Interest of Italy and Sino-EU Textile Dispute


Author
Meng-Jen Chang
Synopsis

”Bras war” took place in 2005 and is terminated really in October 2007 because of phase-out of ATC (Agreement of Textile and Clothing). Although both sides reached the agreement on the reduction of volumes of Chinese clothes this event had divided EU Member States into two parts (in favor or against quotas towards China). During the Sino-EU textile dispute Italy was one of most influential countries being eager to impose the safeguards on China in the wake of national interest in textile and clothing sector. As a result, the Sino-EU trade row occurred because of the strong Italian mobilization to rally other Member States to stand on its side and on behave of the European textile producers to defend the EU interest. To observe Italian fierce reaction it is better to adopt three-level games, which is derived by Putnam's two-level games, can bring us a clear-cut picture in which Italy tended to transfer its national interest to international negotiation table. This paper, through an examination of Sino-EU trade disputes, offers an explanation about how the domestic politics influence the outcome of international negotiation. With this case study domestic factor shows its influence on international politics. We conclude that domestic politics can't ignore as international negotiation proceeds.