Abstract
Taking the three major OECD markets as a whole, the trade data for the period 1980–8 reveal several key features. In the first place, a small number of “traditional” products, particularly textiles, clothing and footwear, remain extremely important in developing countries’ export trade. This reinforces the widely held belief that it is these basic industries which provide the levers for industrialization. Even relatively more advanced developing countries remain large exporters of these basic manufactures. This is one important reason why current negotiations on the Multifibre Agreement are of vital significance for developing countries. These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.