单选题Decide which of the choices given below would best complete the passage
if inserted in the corresponding blanks.
Government subsidies mean considerable cost reduction for major companies and
{{U}} {{U}} 1 {{/U}} {{/U}}to around 10 percent of annual world
trade. In the year 2000, subsidies through ECAs {{U}} {{U}} 2
{{/U}} {{/U}}up to 64 billion dollars of exports from industrialised
countries, {{U}} {{U}} 3 {{/U}} {{/U}}above the official
development assistance granted last year {{U}} {{U}} 4 {{/U}}
{{/U}}51.4 billion dollars. As well as agriculture, textiles and
clothing is another {{U}} {{U}} 5 {{/U}} {{/U}}of many poor
countries. But, as {{U}} {{U}} 6 {{/U}} {{/U}}agriculture,
the wealthier countries have long held up barriers to prevent being {{U}}
{{U}} 7 {{/U}} {{/U}}by poorer country products through subsidies
and various "agreements". The {{U}} {{U}} 8 {{/U}} {{/U}}has
been far-reaching. Since the 1970s the Multi-Fibre Arrangement (MFA) has set
bilateral {{U}} {{U}} 9 {{/U}} {{/U}}between importing and
exporting countries. This was {{U}} {{U}} 10 {{/U}} {{/U}}to
protect the clothing industries of the industrialised world while they adapted
to competition from developing countries. {{U}} {{U}} 11
{{/U}} {{/U}}there are cases where such protection may be warranted,
especially for {{U}} {{U}} 12 {{/U}} {{/U}}periods, the MFA has
been in place since 1974 and has been extended five times.
Although the MFA has been replaced by the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing
(ATC) which phases {{U}} {{U}} 13 {{/U}} {{/U}}support over a
further ten year period —{{U}} {{U}} 14 {{/U}} {{/U}}through a
process which in itself is highly inequitable—developing countries are still
{{U}} {{U}} 15 {{/U}} {{/U}}the consequences. The total cost
{{U}} {{U}} 16 {{/U}} {{/U}}in restrictions on textile imports
{{U}} {{U}} 17 {{/U}} {{/U}}, the developed world has been
estimated to be some $50 billion a year. Many in the first
world imagine the amount of money spent on aid to developing countries is
{{U}} {{U}} 18 {{/U}} {{/U}}. In fact, it amounts to only 0.03%
of GNP of the industrialized nations. In 1995, the director of the US aid agency
defended his agency by {{U}} {{U}} 19 {{/U}} {{/U}}to his
congress that 84 cents of every dollar of aid goes back into the US {{U}}
{{U}} 20 {{/U}} {{/U}}in goods and services purchased. For every
dollar the United States puts into the World Bank, an estimated $2 actually goes
into the US economy in goods and services.