New Delhi: India’s exports growth slowed to a four-month low in June while heavy buying of gold lifted imports, causing a spike in trade deficit from a year earlier, though the gap narrowed from the previous month.
Exports grew 4.39% to $23.5 billion, while imports rose faster at 19% to $36.5 billion, data from the commerce department showed, leaving a trade gap of about $12.9 billion in June, compared with $8.1billion in the yearearlier period and $13.84 billion in May. Gold imports doubled from a year earlier to $2.4 billion.
For the fiscal first quarter, trade deficit more than doubled to $40 billion from $19.2 billion a year earlier. “An unabated surge in imports of gold and precious stones contributed to the wider-than-expected merchandise trade deficit of $13 billion in June 2017, even as merchandise exports printed in line with expectations,” said Aditi Nayar, principal economist at ICRA.
Half of the 30 export sectors showed a decline. “This is a cause of concern. It means the diversification policy of the government is not working,” said Ajay Sahai, director-general at the Federation of Indian Exports Organisation. Major commodity groups of export that showed growth over the year-earlier period were engineering goods (14.78%), petroleum products (3.6%), organic and inorganic chemicals (13.2%), rice (27.29%) and marine products (24.27%). India reported these muted numbers at a time when China posted better than expected exports with an 11.3% expansion in June.
Source: Economic Times
India's export grew by 4.39 per cent to $23.56 billion in June as shipments of chemicals, engineering and marine products improved, according to the official data released today.
Import too rose by 19 per cent to $36.52 billion in June from $30.68 billion in the year-ago month due to rise in inward shipments of oil and gold. A rise in import shot up the country's trade deficit to $12.96 billion in the month under review from $8.11 billion in June 2016, the data released by the Commerce Ministry showed.
Gold import rose to $2.45 billion in June against $1.20 billion in the same month last year. Oil import was valued at $8.12 billion in the month, an increase of 12.04 per cent over the same in June 2016. Export in the first quarter of 2017-18 rose by 10.57 per cent to $72.21 billion while import surged 32.78 per cent to $112.2 billion, leaving a trade deficit of $40 billion.
Source: PTI
Small businesses with turnover of up to Rs 75 lakh have time till July 21 to opt for composition scheme under the Goods and Services Tax regime, GST Network said today. To opt for composition scheme, the taxpayer needs to log into his account at the GST Portal www.gst.gov.in and select 'Application to opt for the Composition Scheme' under 'Services' menu, a GSTN statement said.
"Any person who has been granted registration on a provisional basis and has turnover not exceeding Rs 75 lakh, and who wishes to opt for the composition levy, is required to electronically file an intimation, duly signed or verified through EVC, at the GST portal on or before July 21, 2017," GSTN Chairman Navin Kumar said. Under composition scheme, traders, manufacturers and restaurants can pay tax at one per cent, two per cent and five per cent, respectively in the new indirect tax regime.
Businesses opting for composition scheme will see a lesser compliance burden as they will have to file returns only once in a quarter as against monthly returns to be filed by other businesses. There are over 69 lakh excise, VAT and service taxpayers who have migrated to the GSTN portal for filing returns in the GST regime which ushered in on July 1. Besides, there are over 4.5 lakh new taxpayers who have registered in the portal. These new registered taxpayers can opt for the composition scheme at the time of registration.
GSTN also clarified that taxpayers who have been given provisional IDs must complete all parts of the enrolment at the GST portal and submit the same along with the required documents with digital signature or EVC. Once the form is completed and submitted, the enrolled taxpayer will be issued the final Certificate of Registration which would mark completion of migration under GST. In case an enrolled taxpayer fails to submit the duly filled form with the requisite documents, his provisional registration is liable to be cancelled. "A period of three months is allowed to complete the enrolment procedure by September 22, 2017. In the interim, they can issue tax invoice using the provisional ID already allotted to them," Kumar said.
Source: PTI
India and the European Union have decided to set up a mechanism to facilitate EU investments into the country, the Commerce and Industry ministry said today. The Investment Facilitation Mechanism (IFM) will allow for a close coordination between the EU and India with an aim to promote and facilitate investment in India, the ministry said in a statement. As part of the IFM, an EU delegation to India and the Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion (DIPP) agreed to hold regular high-level meetings to assess and facilitate ease of doing business for EU investors in India. "This will include identifying and putting in place solutions to procedural impediments faced by EU companies and investors in establishing or running their operations in India," it added.
Commenting on this initiative, Tomasz Koslowski, Ambassador of the European Union to India said, "establishment of the IFM is a right step in the direction of strengthening the trade and investment ties between the EU and India". The EU is the largest foreign investor in India and this initiative helps ensuring a more robust, effective and predictable business environment for the European investors, it added. DIPP Secretary Ramesh Abhishek said ease of doing business is a fundamental priority under the Make in India campaign and the establishment of IFM for facilitating EU investments in India is another step to achieve this goal.
"The IFM has been established with the key objectives of paving the way for identifying and solving problems faced by EU companies and investors with regard to their operations in India, he said. The IFM will cover new investors as well as those already established in India, he added. The new mechanism, he said, is also going to serve as a platform for discussing general suggestions from the point of view of EU companies and investors with regard to ease of doing business in India, "which I am sure, would boost and encourage the EU investors to avail the investment opportunities available in India".
Invest India, the official investment promotion and facilitation agency of the government will also be part of the mechanism. It will create a single-window entry point for EU companies that need assistance for their investments at the central or state level. The DIPP will also facilitate the participation of other relevant ministries and authorities on a case-to-case basis. The EU is one of the biggest sources of foreign investment in India with a stock exceeding USD 81.52 billion (more than 4.4 lakh crores INR) as of March 2017. There are more than 6,000 EU companies present in India providing direct and indirect employment to over 6 million people.
Source: PTI
Three years ago, when the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) was seen as a game-changer in the evolving international trade regulatory regime, there was some discussion in India on whether the country should join TPP. Given the prevailing political constraints, it was evident that India would find it difficult to accept a number of clauses in the emerging agreement. The discussion therefore was more aspirational than real. Today, we have a different situation. With the US, the largest economy in the TPP, withdrawing from the agreement, the future of TPP is uncertain. This situation provides some relief to India because the TPP would have eroded India’s access to certain key international markets. Interestingly, the present situation provides more than just relief: It creates several important opportunities for India.
Like any new trade agreement, the TPP is a combination of initiatives such as those embodying good governance principles, i.e., transparency of procedures and regulations, timely decision, processes to facilitate transactions, standards of review, and support to improve institutional capabilities. Further, it establishes collaborative and consultative mechanisms amongst policy-makers and regulatory agencies in different countries, and provides a template with steps that improve cost-effectiveness of domestic production and trade. The agreement increases predictable market access, combining it with flexibilities to protect domestic industries if required, shows agreement on regulatory regimes in general as well as for certain specific products, and establishes a platform to discuss and seek solutions for emerging concerns and new issues. Further, the TPP covers a range of disciplines, from soft ones such as guidelines or best-effort agreement, to strong legally binding disciplines for large tariff reduction.
The TPP provides a useful template for India to facilitate domestic policy reform, promote regional or multilateral collaborative initiatives such as for regulatory coherence, and even prepare for negotiations at the regional or WTO level (a forthcoming Brookings India paper gives more detail).
In this context, it is noteworthy that India is implementing several domestic reforms to achieve good governance through initiatives such as ease of doing business, trade facilitation, self-certification, simplifying forms and processes, and introducing e-governance. These systems-oriented reforms include a focus on developing transparent due procedures and inclusive systems; help provide timely response to enquiries, requests and reviews; and improve both regulatory practices and the general work of the Government. There is an obvious overlap between India’s domestic reform process. Several parts of TPP are relevant for India’s ongoing efforts to enhance good governance, and provide a template worth consideration in the same way as the ease of doing business index is considered for effectively implementing the Make in India programme, or India is making practical efforts to improve trade-efficiency by implementing the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement.
Likewise, TPP mentions specific issues pertaining to e-commerce, such as the legal regime required for e-commerce, online consumer protection, personal information protection, and regulation of unsolicited commercial electronic messages. Since the internet extends beyond national borders, agreement amongst nations become an important part of the regulatory regime for internet. The TPP becomes particularly useful in this context because it shows a framework that has been agreed amongst several nations. Further, with technological changes that continue to further erode the limits of national boundaries, such machine-to-machine (M2M) and 3D printing, India would need to develop its systems and approaches broadly consistent with practices in other major economies. The mechanisms and solutions in TPP provide a model for working towards greater collaboration amongst regulators of different countries and mutually learn about options to address new issues. These options could range from “soft” (e.g. guidelines) to “hard” (e.g. legislative or regulatory) requirements.
Collaborative efforts at the bilateral/regional level or the WTO are important in other areas as well, such as non-tariff measures faced by Indian exports, including standards and regulatory barriers. Collaboration and cooperation amongst nations also provides the basis for capacity building, develop mutually support initiatives, learn about methods and policies that improve domestic competitiveness, and share information on regulations and practices that lead to success cases in other countries. For these areas too, the TPP text provides a useful template to consider for collaborative arrangements amongst nations.
Interestingly, parts of the TPP and the emerging inward-looking attitude in several major economies regarding trade policies suggest a possibility also with respect to market access negotiations. India finds these negotiations difficult because opening up its markets by reducing tariffs is difficult for it, as is getting others to agree to its demand for opening up their markets for Indians going to the other territory to provide services such as software (Mode 4).
Even though the TPP embodies a much higher ambition for tariff reduction and lower for Mode 4 than what India would find comfortable, the agreement indicates possible directions for India to work out some solutions for negotiations in market access for goods and services. The TPP provides a whole range of flexibilities which arguably are new in their scope: they include, for instance, up to 30 years for implementing the agreed tariff reduction for sensitive products, or taking away the agreed market access from others if certain market opening by them is assessed to be less than what was agreed. For services, TPP results could indicate for India the possible export opportunities in areas other than Mode 4. Of course, though more thought is needed to identify and create opportunities for India in its specific context, the important point is to recognise that TPP provides a very rich template for improving domestic and external performance of India, without the onerous obligation to accepting any conditions under that agreement.
Source: Financial Express
The textile industry in Surat has been affected badly as the manufacturing units, traders and retailers remained shut due to the ongoing protest against GST. While the strike continues, majority of the traders as well as the industry comprising of hundreds of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) want to resume the business.
Talking to KNN, Narain Aggarwal, Chairman of The Synthetic & Rayon Textiles Export Promotion Council (SRTEPC) informed about the latest development.
He said that in Surat the situation is bad, due to the ongoing strike against the GST, there have been losses amounting to more than 4000 crores.
He further informed that not everyone is opposed to GST, majority of the traders and manufacturers are willing to start businsses and adapt to the tax.
“More than 50 per cent of the businesses want to resume under GST, they however are demanding certain procedural ease which even the government is willing to consider, but due to the group that doesn’t want to let the business happen there is a chaotic situation," he said.
Aggarwal informed that a delegation of traders has met the Police Commissioner demanding security while opening their shops, to which the Commissioner has agreed and has asked the traders to submit an application in writing.
He said that in case the businesses don’t operate soon, the loss is to mount up further with the peak sale season approaching.
Aggarwal informed that the leading associations are in talks to find a way to normalize the situation. For now they have identified the Surat textile market area in the centre of the city that has more than 1000 shops, the market is likely to resume from Monday with the support of police.
Commenting upon GST with regard to the manufacturers he said that the industry comprising mostly of the MSME units is willing to embrace the GST, most of the units have already registered with the GSTN. (KNN/ DA)
Source: KNN
The textile industry has suffered a loss of an estimated Rs 40,000 crore due to the protest against GST since July 1. In Gujarat alone, the loss is roughly to the tune of about Rs 10,000 crore.
Lakhs of traders associated with the textile industry have been protesting the inclusion of clothes in the ambit of GST. They have put forth two demands to end their protest - taxing only thread or deferring GST on textiles till April 2019.
The textile traders in Surat, country's main centre of the industry, are spearheading the protest under the banner of 'Save Textile Struggle Committee'.
Its convener Tarachand Kasat Devkishan Mangani said there are about seven lakh traders directly or indirectly associated with the industry in Surat, Ahmedabad, Rajkot, Jetpur, Jamnagar Kutch and other cities of Gujarat.
He said the traders have suffered a loss of about Rs 10,000 crore due to the strike. Adding industries associated with raw materials, transport and others, this loss could be to the tune of Rs 15,000 crore so far, he added.
Mangani further said if the protests at other places such as Erode in Tamil Nadu, Punjab, Uttar Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh and Telangana are also included, the total losses would reach about Rs 40,000 crore.
The sale had dropped since June 15 as the textile merchants had reduced their stocks, he added.
He said unlike jewelleries, cloth is a necessity. It is not a luxury. Cloth is indispensable while the same cannot be said about jewelleries. The strike by the textile industry would continue, he said.
Source: India Today
Andhra Pradesh Weavers’ Welfare Association has requested the Prime Minister to withdraw the 5% GST imposed on hank yarn used by handlooms not only to help over 43.3 lakh weavers depending on the activity for their livelihood sustain but also to honour Article 43 of the Constitution which urged the Government to promote cottage industries.
General secretary of the association P. Lakshmana Swamy explained that handlooms sector was contributing about 15% of cloth production in the country and of the total production of handloom 25% was being exported. Besides, 95% of the hand woven fabrics used across the world were from India, he noted.
Stating that handlooms sector was providing direct employment to 43.31 lakh persons on 23.77 lakh handlooms, Mr. Swamy said 10% of the weavers were from Scheduled Castes, 18% from other backward classes and another 27% from other castes and imposition of GST would make the sustenance of the sector passing through a difficult phase burdensome.
Source: The Hindu
A right turn after crossing the Behrampura bridge over the Sabarmati river in Ahmedabad leads to a deserted plot that used to house Calico Mills, once “the pride of Gujarat”.
In one corner of the plot, a dilapidated chimney is all that remains of the mill. Sitting there with his friends, Mehboob, 35, shares the ordeal his family faced after his mill worker father Karim lost his job in the 1990s.
“I remember my father setting up a roadside cart selling sweets. For some time he even worked at a power loom factory earning Rs 200 per day. The memories are still fresh in my mind,” says Karim who sells bangles.
In 2010, the Calico Mills land, plant and machinery were auctioned off for Rs 270 crore.
Once the core of the city’s economy, the textile mills are a thing of the past in Ahmedabad. Today, of the 65 mills that were operational in the 1990s, only seven are functional, employing nearly 13,000 workers.
Also, the absence of a strong workers’ movement in Gujarat has weakened the case for revival of the mills as it hardly figures on the agenda of political parties in the upcoming state assembly polls.
“Till a few years ago, the 65 mills used to employ 1.5 lakh workers, mostly Dalits or Muslims,” says Amrish Patel, a labour advocate.
Industry watchers say the state’s textile industry declined as it could not sustain the competition from cheaper power loom products and a shift in demand away from cotton textiles.
“The mill owners failed to modernise and some of them could not repay the loans taken from financial institutions. The mills that modernised managed to survive and are being touted as success stories,” says Amar Barot, general secretary of the Textile Labour Association (TLA).
Curiously, Ahmedabad has not witnessed any major workers’ movement since Independence. Most of the 1.5 lakh mill workers were on the rolls of TLA that followed the Gandhian method of negotiating with owners.
In October 2015, nearly 600 workers of Arvind Mills resumed work after a protest demanding bonus and pay hike. A similar stalemate over wages in July 2012 was settled peacefully.
“The only recent agitation by workers in Ahmedabad was the month-long safai kamdars’ strike, which ended after the city corporation agreed to their demands,” says Amrish Patel.
The manufacturing units of Arvind Limited in Naroda are among those that bucked the decline through constant upgrades. Today it is the country’s largest denim manufacturer with over 10,000 workers at its three units in Ahmedabad.
“We made all efforts to modernise with time. Today we even provide denims to international brands like Arrow and Tommy Hilfiger apart from running our own cloth stores,” says an Arvind mill manager.
Having realised that it was losing its dominant position in the sector, the government notified the Gujarat State Textile Policy in 2013, aimed at promoting the textile sector.
“We were lagging behind many states despite being known globally for our mills. The new policy was aimed at infusing a new lease of life into the textile sector,” says RH Vasava, deputy secretary in the labour and employment department.
Till 2016, the new policy had attracted investments worth Rs 9,208 crore, he said. Besides, the state has also rolled out labour-friendly schemes to benefit workers in different sectors.
But it’s hard to tell whether these belated moves will help revive Ahmedabad ‘s famous mills.
Elections to the Gujarat assembly are no more than a few months away and Mehboob is filled with despair. He says no political party is even promising to retrieve the lost glory of the mills since mill workers have ceased to be a significant voting bloc. “Most mill workers have moved on to other sectors or trades,” points out political analyst, Achyut Yagnik.
Source: Hindustan Times
India’s annual rate of inflation, based on monthly wholesale price index (WPI), dropped to 0.90 per cent for June 2017 over same month of the previous year. The index for ‘Manufacturing of wearing apparel’ declined by 0.2 per cent to 133.2 in June from 133.5 in May 2017 due to lower price of manufacture of wearing apparel (woven), except fur apparel.
Meanwhile, the official WPI for all commodities (Base: 2011-12 = 100) for the month of June, 2017 declined by 0.1 per cent to 112.7 from 112.8 for the previous month, according to the provisional data released by the Office of the Economic Adviser, ministry of commerce and industry.
The index for manufactured products (weight 64.23 per cent) for June, 2017 declined by 0.1 per cent to 112.5 from 112.6 for the previous month. The index for textiles sub-group increased by 0.1 per cent to 113.7 from 113.6 for the previous month due to higher price of cotton yarn, viscose yarn and weaving and finishing of textiles (1 per cent each). However, the price of manufacture of other textiles declined by 1 per cent.
The index for ‘Manufacture of Wearing Apparel’ sub-group declined by 0.2 per cent to 133.2 in June, 2017 from 133.5 for the previous month due to lower price of manufacture of wearing apparel (woven), except fur apparel (1 per cent). However, the price of manufacture of knitted and crocheted apparel (1 per cent) moved up.
The index for primary articles (weight 22.62 per cent) rose by 0.3 per cent to 126.9 from 126.5 for the previous month. On the other hand, the index for fuel and power (weight 13.15 per cent) declined by 1.2 per cent to 89.7 from 90.8 for the previous month due to lower prices of LPG, naphtha, ATF, HSD, petrol and lube oils. However, the price of petroleum coke and furnace oil moved up. (RKS)
Source: Fibre2fashion
The participants of the 65th National Garmet Fair organised by the Clothing Manufacturers Association of India have booked orders worth ₹750 crore at the end of the three-day fair concluded in Mumbai on Wednesday.
The exhibition has generated enquiry of ₹1,500 crore leading to CMAI term the business response as ‘beyond imagination’ in view of the existing problems like implementation of GST. There was a total footfall of 48,000 visitors out of which 45,000 was against registration. CMAI will organise the next garment fair on January 29, 2018 in Mumbai.
Source: Business Line
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China is fast catching up as a global economic forum, while the public perception around the world, including India, is that the US still remains at the top, according to a new survey in 38 countries.
The survey shows "in seven of the 10 European Union nations, China is considered the leading economic power (it is tied with the US for top spot in Italy)."
However, India continues to believe US is the world's leading economy. In fact, 41% of Indians have an unfavourable view of China, and just 26% have a more positive image of it.
India is joined by Japan, parts of Asia and Latin America in rooting for the Americans even as most of Russia believes China is the economic leader. Interestingly, "China leads the US by a two-to-one margin in Australia - a longtime US ally, but also a country whose top trading partner is China." A median of 42 per cent say the US is the world's leading economy, while 32 per cent name China, Pew said.
Across all of the countries surveyed in Latin America, as well as most in Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, people tend to believe that the US is the top economy.
"And by a 51 per cent-35 per cent margin, Americans name their own country rather than China," it said. Releasing results of the survey, Pew said over the past year, perceptions of relative US economic power have declined in many of America's key trading partners and allies. The trend can be seen in several European countries, where views about the economic balance of power have fluctuated in recent years, it said. Pew said following the onset of the financial crisis nearly a decade ago, Europeans increasingly named China, rather than the US, as the world's leading economic power.
"But in recent years, as the American economy slowly recovered, the pendulum began to swing back in the direction of the US," it said. This year, however, the pattern has reversed itself again, and in countries such as Germany, the United Kingdom and Spain, China is once more seen as occupying the top spot. "But these shifts are not limited to Europe; perceptions have also changed significantly in countries such as Canada, Brazil, Mexico and the Philippines," Pew concluded. However, both the leaders of China and the United States are perceived negatively globally, Pew said. While Xi is less known globally than Trump, Pew said a median of 53 per cent say they do not have confidence in Chinese President to do the right thing in world affairs.
Source: Economic Times
It comes as the US is increasing pressure on Beijing to bring its unruly neighbour into line.
Last week US President Donald Trump let his taste for exageration out of the bag when he slammed China for a 40 percent hike in trade with Pyongyang.
China says its sticking to all international agreements, Geng Shuang is from the Chinese foreign ministry.
“I want to reiterate that China is always fully, accurately, carefully and strictly enforcing Security Council resolutions. But all parties should not confuse the idea that at present the Security Council sanctions on North Korea are not comprehensive economic sanctions. For China to maintain normal economic and trade relations with North Korea does not violate Security Council resolutions.”
Chinese imports from North Korea dropped some 13.2 percent, while exports
rose 29.1 percent.
The exports are mainly labour intensive textiles not included on the United Nations sanctions list.
SOURCE: Euronews
In a once bustling Cairo shopping street, many businesses have now shut down or are operating at reduced opening hours.
Sitting outside their shops, owners complain that soaring living costs have resulted in fewer customers and less spending.
In June, Egypt hiked fuel prices by 50 percent to help meet the terms of a $12 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan deal.
This was a sharper rise than expected by many Egyptians already struggling with inflation.
The fuel price rise has affected businesses and customers alike as transportation costs of basic and luxury goods increased causing a hike in prices and less spending.
“No, business here is very slow, there is no selling at all. Like before there was work and movement and stuff, but now there is nothing at all. Now we are barely able to cover our costs,” A nut shop owner, Walid Mohamed said.
Government officials say spending cuts will help revive an economy where subsidies have accounted for about a quarter of state expenditures.
But austerity carries risks for President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi as inflation and a contested deal to hand two Red Sea islands to Saudi Arabia have eroded his public standing.
Magdi Hosni, who owns a fish shop, said that Sisi’s measures were too harsh and sudden.
“The decisions that have been taken should have been carried out over many years. But he gave them out to us all at once. And this shouldn’t be done. We understand that this is economic reform. And it needs to be done but it should have been taken in several stages. It can’t be done all at once,” Hosni added.
Egypt has been struggling since a 2011 uprising drove foreign investors and tourists away.
Many Egyptians have been hit hard by record inflation and a local currency that has lost half its value since it was floated in November.
SOURCE: Africanews
Bangladesh Apparel Exchange (BAE) – a private initiative to promote Bangladesh apparel industry – is going to organise a workshop on how to develop an apparel brand.
The day-long workshop titled “How to build your own apparel brand and directly address European and US Consumers” will be held on July 29 at Gardenia in Dhaka.
The objective of the workshop is to disseminate knowledge on how to develop the next growth strategy of Bangladesh’s apparel sector by putting up new designs to locally owned products and making them stand out as an international brand, which will facilitate a direct sale to Western consumers.
By participating in the workshop, an entrepreneur will be able to gain insight on how the global renowned brands are conceptualised and designed. It will also help create own brand as well as bring about an opportunity of e-commerce.
Bangladesh – the second largest exporter of clothing products – produces apparel items for global retailers such as Zara, H&M, Marks & Spencer, Gap and many more, founder and chief executive officer of BAE Mostafiz Uddin said.
But the manufacturers that make clothes for the world’s famous brands are yet to establish any global brand originated from Bangladesh, added Mostafiz.
Considering all these aspects, BAE has taken the initiative to share experience and advice for building a brand from purpose to product for entrepreneurs, fashion aspirants and everyone with a dream to build their own brad, said Mostafiz.
According to the industry insiders and experts, by creating brands, Bangladesh can increase profit margin by utilising the strength and intelligence of local business, which would impact Bangladesh’s economy largely.
The workshop will help one to kick off with next growth strategy by providing insight into designing own brand and selling it directly to western wholesalers and end consumers.
In the just-concluded fiscal year, export earnings from the clothing industry have seen only a 0.20% rise to $28.15 billion, the lowest in the last one and a half decades.
The overall export earnings stood at $34.83 billion, which is 1.68% higher than $34.25 billion a year ago.
At this situation, Bangladesh should focus on high-end products to come out of the sluggish export growth, Mostafiz said, who is also the managing director of Denim Expert Limited.
The business tycoon has successfully been exporting his denim products to Europe since 1999.
“I think the workshop will help RMG people focus on building brand to get better prices,” he commented.
Source: Dhaka Tribune
WASHINGTON, July 14, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) made a unanimous preliminary determination today that unfairly-traded imports of fine denier polyester staple fiber (fine denier PSF) from China, India, Korea, and Taiwan are causing injury to U.S. producers. The preliminary injury determination means that the antidumping duty cases against imports from China, India, Korea, and Taiwan, along with the countervailing duty cases against China and India, will proceed.
Three major U.S. polyester fiber producers – DAK Americas LLC (DAK), Nan Ya Plastics Corporation, America (Nan Ya), and Auriga Polymers Inc. (Auriga) – filed petitions with the ITC and the U.S. Department of Commerce (Commerce) on May 31, 2017 alleging that dumped imports of fine denier PSF from all four countries, and subsidized imports of fine denier PSF from China and India, are causing material injury to the domestic industry.
Imports of fine denier PSF from the four subject countries increased by nearly 68 percent between 2014 and 2016. The import surge was driven by low import prices that undersold the domestic industry, causing U.S. producers to lose significant sales and profits.
"We are pleased with the results of the ITC's preliminary finding. This affirmative decision is a critical first step in providing relief to the domestic industry harmed by the flood of unfairly-traded imports of fine denier PSF from China, India, Korea, and Taiwan," said Paul Rosenthal, of Kelley Drye & Warren LLP, counsel to the petitioners.
The product covered by the petition is fine denier polyester staple fiber, which is a synthetic staple fiber of polyesters measuring less than 3.3 decitex (3 denier) in diameter. Fine denier PSF is generally cut in lengths of less than five inches (127 mm). Fine denier PSF is similar in appearance to cotton or wool. It is typically converted either to yarn for weaving or knitting into fabric or to a non-woven textile prior to the end-use application. Woven applications include the production of textiles such as clothing and bedding linens, for example. Non-woven applications include the production of household and hygiene products such as cleaning wipes, baby wipes, and diapers.
The petitioning companies are DAK Americas LLC, Nan Ya Plastics Corporation, America, and Auriga Polymers Inc., represented by Kelley Drye & Warren LLP.
Source: PR News Wire
