Industry Demanding Raise In Import Tariffs

Nicole Fontaine the french industry minister and her trade associates has demanded French finance ministry to raise France's import tariffs on manufactured goods.

According to Ms Fontaine, around a dozen areas of the French manufacturing sector need a minimum amount of tariff protection in order to survive. The most vulnerable of these, say observers, are the textile, clothing and footwear industries. The number of people employed in France in clothing manufacture, for example, has dropped by 55 per cent since 1980.