India will not take the initiative to re-open talks on its sensitivities with other members of the proposed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). It will remain out of the grouping unless other members re-work the pact to its satisfaction, a government official has said. “No bilateral negotiations are planned with RCEP members to sort out the areas of concerns. India has clearly stated all its concerns at the forum. If all the members get together and make changes in the pact and make an offer, the country could examine it. Otherwise, it stays out of the grouping,” the official told BusinessLine. Following India’s exit from the RCEP earlier this month at the Leaders’ Summit in Bangkok, many of the 15 members such as New Zealand, Japan and China have expressed interest in talking to India to sort out its problems so that it could get back to the talks. The other countries in the group include the 10-member ASEAN, South Korea and Australia. However, with India not showing much enthusiasm in getting back to the negotiating table and the other RCEP members not moving to woo it back, time may be running out. “At the RCEP Summit in Bangkok, it was decided by all the 15 members that they would try to seal the deal by February 2020. It seems highly unlikely that India’s issues can be resolved by then,” the official said.
Wrangle over Rules of Origin
India’s biggest concern with the RCEP relates to the Rules of Origin (ROO) agreed to by the other members. New Delhi believes that the ROO are rather loose and would allow Chinese goods, which may be behind a higher tariff wall for a longer period compared to those from ASEAN, circumvent the duties and come into India via ASEAN nations. “A strong ROO is absolutely necessary to save the Indian industry from a surge in Chinese imports as more than 90 per cent of the goods being traded with the ASEAN would be brought down to zero in a phased manner, starting next year,” the official said. India has also demanded that the base rate of duty (for calculating tariff cuts) should be 2019 instead of 2014, as agreed earlier, as the five-year-old rates were no longer relevant. An adequate Auto Trigger Safeguard Mechanism to prevent dumping and import surges was another of Delhi’s demands.
Source: The Hindu BusinessLine
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said on Saturday that India did not join the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) as the offer “was not as much as our aspirations.” The RCEP negotiations were launched by ASEAN leaders and six other countries during the 21st ASEAN Summit in Phnom Penh (Cambodia) in November 2012. The objective of launching RCEP negotiations was to achieve a modern, comprehensive, high-quality, and mutually beneficial economic partnership agreement among the ASEAN member-states and their FTA partners. She also said that she held discussions with credit rating agencies on their methodology to assess risk, in the backdrop of the failure of firms which had been rated well by these agencies. Delivering the sixth G. Ramachandran Memorial Lecture, organised by the Southern India Chamber of Commerce and Industry, she said, “I met up with a few of the credit rating agencies to understand the way in which they rate are consistent with what is happening in the economy.” “Without taking any name, I would only highlight that an AAA-rated institution collapsed in a week after the rating. So, do you really take the rating as just an indicator or just a broad advisory or do you take that as a holy book and say that their rating is really good and they can be offered loan as much as they want?” she said. Many such decisions, where the rating was good, ended up with people wondering why the company failed. Speaking about the non-performing asset (NPA) crisis, she said most banks are out of prompt corrective action (PCA) now. They are going through a churn on how to assess risk and how best they can rate asset quality so that their functioning will be smoother. The government is also discussing the legislative changes or amendments the government needs to undertake to empower the RBI. She also said banks should assess their strengths and weaknesses before planning to scale up of operations. “I take the name of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) here, particulalry in the context of the Punjab Maharashtra Cooperative Bank (PMC Bank). There had been several questions in the context of PMC Bank and earlier in the context of IL&FS collapse. The RBI is clearly looking at a lot, introspecting a lot, and making sure that there is a need for measures within the RBI to strengthen supervisory and regulatory roles,” she said. She added, “Institutions like banks should understand their core strengths and offer benefits to people like providing value-added features like phone banking facilities or rolling out chat bots to serve customers and should not take up unnecessary scaling up of operations.” “Scaling up (of operations in banks) is becoming like a disease. Today, I am in this state and in six states. I am planning to expand presence across the country. Whether it will add to my core or make it weak, that is the assessment the banks should do,” she said.
Source: Business Standard
The government is considering amending its rules to completely remove the provision under which citizens can receive duty-free ‘gifts and samples’ valued at under Rs 5,000 from overseas, after finding its rampant misuse by Chinese ecommerce vendors, senior officials ET spoke to said. The Central Board of Indirect Taxes and Customs (CBITC), which formulates policy concerning levy and collection of customs, was considering a cap on the number of gifts an individual can receive, but has decided against it given the complexity in its implementation. “There were multiple legal options we were looking at, one being limiting the number (of gifts) to four per individual. But to implement this practically would be difficult, so we’re looking at a policy that prohibits the clearance of gifts altogether,” said a senior government official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. The customs department began cracking down on ecommerce imports masquerading as gifts in November last year. Starting this year, an approach to block the clearance of such packages across all express cargo ports was adopted, leading to a massive drop in the number of gifts coming into the country. The official said all the three major express cargo ports in Mumbai, Delhi and Bengaluru, which constitute 90% of such imports, had blocked clearance of gifts. Other ports were also notified to ensure Chinese ecommerce vendors did not shift their base, but no such phenomenon has been seen. “We’ve curbed it (import of gifts) completely. Now policy-wise we’re planning in such a way that the gift word itself is removed,” said the official. “The policy can say clearance sought as gift is not permitted, or in other words, whatever you’re importing you need to pay duties and clear it.” While the board’s action againstimports through the gift channel has been largely tackled, another route for imports has opened up. Firms have been found to be acting as intermediaries between customers and Chinese ecommerce companies, to avoid paying higher duties that personal imports attract. ET had reported in June that the Mumbai customs port had seized hundreds of packages of firms such as Sino India Etail and Globemax, which were acting as importers on record for Chinese firms SheIn and Club Factory, respectively. Both firms were found to be undervaluing imported goods. “B2C imports coming in the garb of B2B imports is another problem. Anywhere we see import volumes surging, we look into it and take appropriate action. However, the number of importers who don’t cross this threshold are massive, and we can’t look into everything,” another government official said. The board has been actively seeking feedback from the industry on ways to curb duty and GST evasion by ecommerce vendors located outside the country, ET had reported in August. For now, the board is working with the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade by furnishing inputs for the latter’s comprehensive ecommerce policy. One of the measures that has already been highlighted in the draft policy is mandating all ecommerce entities, global and local, to register themselves in India for the purpose of monitoring their sales.
Source: Economic Times
The Hindu has accessed a presentation made by NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant to the Standing Committee on Finance; 12.4% growth needed to achieve the figure, Mr. Kant said. The road to a $5 trillion economy by 2025 is beset with many speed breakers, the NITI Aayog has warned the government. To begin with, the think tank has said the nominal GDP growth — a measure of growth without accounting for inflation — has to be at least 12.4% on an average if that target has to be reached. The current rate was a mere 8% in the first quarter of the current financial year. The government is expected to release data for the second quarter (July to September) later this month. Experts estimate that growth will dip in Q2 compared to Q1 in both real and nominal terms. For example, while GDP growth in real terms in Q1 stood at 5%, state-run lender State Bank of India recently estimated that this could dip to 4.2% in Q2, with a corresponding dip in nominal growth as well. Real GDP growth accounts for inflation in its calculation. The Hindu has accessed a presentation made by the Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant to the Standing Committee on Finance, chaired by former Union Minister and BJP MP Jayant Sinha. Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on July 5, presenting her first Budget, had said her government would work to make India a $5 trillion economy by 2025. The claim has often been ridiculed by opposition parties. Mr. Kant in his presentation said that “domestic investment and consumption” are the only dependable drivers for sustainable re-acceleration [of the economy]. “However a deceleration in investment is visible, primarily in the household sector, due almost entirely to real estate,” he pointed out. According to data he provided, gross fixed capital formation in the sub-sector of ‘dwellings, other buildings and structures’ fell from 12.8% of GDP in 2011-12 to 6.9% in 2017-18. The slowdown in the domestic market is also because of limited availability of capital with the banks which are tied down due to high non-performing assets in heavy industry and infrastructure, Mr. Kant said. As an indication of the “structural changes” that Ms. Sitharaman had also hinted at in her Budget speech, Mr. Kant argued that in the power sector, there is a high cross-subsidisation in favour of residential tariff leading to very high industrial tariffs. The electric power transmission and distribution (T&D) losses in India stand at 19%, higher than that of Bangladesh and Vietnam. The presentation flagged the urgent need to focus on export of high-value technology and manufacturing goods instead of primary goods currently exported. Citing an example, the NITI Aayog chief said 98% of phones exported by India are in the low-value category, to the Middle East and Africa. There has been a sharp decline in exports in the textiles from 2017 onwards, according to the presentation. Several financial experts have blamed the decline on the November 2016 decision to demonetise high value currency that drained vital liquidity out of the cash-dependent textile market.
Source: The Hindu
The government on Friday raised concerns over fake invoices being generated in the business-to-business (B2B) segment which is impacting GST collections. This under-reporting has become a challenge for the government, Minister of State for Finance and Corporate Affairs Anurag Thakur said. "It is not only the government, it is also the industry which also has to play an important role. In GST, we are seeing a lot of fake invoicing and it is from business to business," Thakur said at the annual session of Consumer Electronics and Appliances Manufacturers Association. "B2C is the second chapter. In B2B, we see lot of fake invoices, which is a challenge to increase the GST collection," he added. The minister also assured the industry that the Centre would bring more transparency in the system, citing the recent faceless assessment of income tax started by the government. "Many industry leaders talked about the harassments. We have talked about the faceless assessment in India and within a month from Vijayadashami this year, we have started and given 58,322 cases for the first set of assessment," he said. "I promise you more changes in the system, which would be transparent and more accountability. We would be more than happy to (help) the industry to grow, to make more transparent system in place and I am sure you can also help us by bringing more investments," the minister added. "Real estate to automobile to manufacturing, we have taken landmark decisions and will continue to support sectors across the spectrum to achieve the target of a USD 5 trillion economy," said Thakur. Meanwhile, Thakur also asked the appliances and consumer electronics industry to tackle e-waste generated from products. "India generates 1.85 million tonnes of e-waste annually. The role of companies does not end when a product is sold. Corporates have a responsibility towards tackling the issue of e-waste which is a global challenge," the minister said.
Source: Economic Times
Fifteenth finance commission chairman NK Singh on Friday called for major changes in the GST structure, including reducing the cumbersome compliance procedures and also doing away with frequent rate changes, to improve collection. He also pitched for a rationalisation in Centrally- sponsored schemes, and blamed the government for not clearly defining the role of the Niti Aayog, which as of now does not have any powers to take financial decisions. The comments from the chief of the commission that decides on the revenue distribution between the Centre and the states, come amidst concerns about the continuous fall in GST collection which has not touched the targeted Rs 1 trillion every month barring one month. "If you do not simplify GST, you will be defeating the very purpose and intention of why we took this far reaching step," Singh told SBI chairman Rajnish Kumar, while delivering the LK Jha memorial lecture at the RBI headquarters here this evening. "The cumbersomeness of compliance is one of the important factors why I believe that there is a huge scope for improving the revenue realisation from GST," he added. "Equally, I do believe the frequency with which the rates have been changed is unbelievable. You are playing with the rates of taxation, these are serious issues and these are not rates of mutual accommodation," he said. However, he noted that despite all these issues, we have seen one of the fastest GST adoption rates and credited same to the prime minister and the then finance minister Arun Jaitley, but stressed on the need to go back to the drawing board urgently. The changes sought will minimise the cost of compliance, make the system less onerous and finally lead to an improved trajectory of revenue collection. Singh said the commission has visited nearly all the states in the run-up to the preparation of its report and that many of them have "complained that the fiscal autonomy has been circumscribed by GST"."I think the GST Council needs a restructuring in terms of what is good, not only in terms of the negotiating strengths of one state versus the other, it needs to function in a manner so that the rims of India are not really seriously compromised," Singh said. Noting that there are many as 211 Centrally-sponsored schemes on which the government spends over Rs 3.32 lakh annually, he said ideally these are subjects to be typically handled by the states like employment. "We need a far more credible policy on rationalization of the Centrally-sponsored schemes and the Central outlays than have been possible so far...this becomes more relevant because the role of the Niti Ayog which is a think-tank and not a financial body, remains somewhat unclear in the financial sphere," Singh said. He noted that prioritising "political expediencies" over "constitutional misgivings" has ensured that the states haven't complained against such "transgressions".Singh also hit out against off-budget borrowings by both the Centre and the states saying such instances are "clever" ways to side-step financial reporting requirements. There is a need to rethink the fiscal partnerships to catapult growth, and not look at it merely as a way to garner more revenue from a particular state. "Living in a deceitful world of one-upmanship either among the states or between the states and the Centre will only detract our ability to realise our growth potential," Singh warned. Meanwhile, in the speech that comes months after the Centre abrogated the provisions of Article 370 and the further division of the erstwhile Jammu & Kashmir, Singh seemed to support the power of the Centre to reorganise the states. "The units of our federation have undergone multiple transformations since 1947. This is because Article 3 empowers Parliament to create new states. While such a provision can be seen as giving the Union too much powers, it has arguably been central to holding us together since it allows us to evolve and respond to sub-national aspirations," he said. "India is an indestructible Union of destructible states," he concluded.
Source: Business Standard
When it comes to creating jobs in the textile sector, Gujarat is faring well – the best in the country. According to data by Union ministry of textiles, the state created the highest number of jobs in the past three years, under the Scheme for Integrated Textile Park (SITP). Some 26,282 people in Gujarat got employed in the textile parks set up in Gujarat in 2016-17, 2017-18 and 2018-19. Gujarat leads other manufacturing-heavy states such as Maharashtra (22,910), Andhra Pradesh (19,137) and Tamil Nadu (9,995), in employment generation under SITP. According to data provided by Textile Commissionerate, 11 textile parks have been set up in Gujarat so far, most of which are mainly concentrated in Surat and Ahmedabad. Each such park has some 10 textile manufacturing units. The Union government scheme provides support for creation of infrastructure facilities to set up textile units. As part of the scheme, government grant up to Rs 40 crore for each park is released by the Union government. A well-placed source privy to the development suggests that seven of these 11 parks are fully operational. “Majority of these parks have weaving units in addition to yarn texturizing and value-addition. However, there is one park in Surat which is dedicated to textile processing units,” said the source. The textile parks have been set-up based on the plug-and-play model, where basic infrastructure would be provided to the manufacturing units, which would only need to install machinery and begin operations. More than 110 units have become operational in these parks, according to government sources. “The total project cost is estimated to be Rs110 crore per textile park, whereas an estimated investment of Rs 1,500 crore took place across these textile parks,” said the source.
Source: Times of India
Experts want the GST Council to prepare a detailed road map for the next two-three years to provide an environment of tax certainty for businesses. N K Singh, chairman, the Fifteenth Finance Commission, recently set the cat among pigeons when he called for taking the goods and services tax (GST) system back to the drawing board. He is, however, not the first one to say so. Earlier, the finance ministers of Punjab and Kerala had made similar demands. Reasons for the rethink on GST are not difficult to figure out. Both businesses and governments have their share of woes from how the GST system has shaped up over its two-and-a-half years of existence. While the need for simplification of the GST structure is something almost experts ...
Source: Business Standard
Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal told Parliament on Friday that reform momentum towards self-certification, labour laws and environment clearance will boost investment and production. “Recently, several short-term and long-term measures have been announced to boost investment, production and demand,” Goyal said in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha on the steps the government proposes to take to review investments, production and demand. He said while global growth is forecast at 3% for 2019, its lowest level since 2008-09 as per the World Economic Outlook of the International Monetary Fund, India continues to grow faster than the rest of the world. “The government has been continuously taking measures to boost investment, production and demand through its initiatives such as Make in India, Startup India, Ease of Doing Business, Business Reform Action Plan, Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) Policy and sectoral schemes/programmes. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy and procedures have been simplified and liberalised progressively,” said Goyal. He said corporate tax rate has been cut to 22% for domestic companies and 15% for new domestic manufacturing companies; drive initiated for GST refund to micro, small and medium enterprises within 30 days, ban lifted on purchase of new vehicles in ministries and departments, and tax benefits provided to boost demand of vehicles. The government has made upfront released Rs 70,000 crore to state-run banks and made additional provision for lending and liquidity of Rs 5 lakh crore to increase credit flow to industries, said Goyal. To bolster consumption and demand, the commerce and industry minister said, banks have cut interest rates, a move that would lead to lower equated monthly instalments for home, auto and other loans.
Source: Economic Times
On 21ST November 2019, the 19th session of India-Finland Joint Commission was held in New Delhi to promote business ties and strengthen the bilateral cooperation between both the nations. At the 19th session of India-Finland Joint commission, delegates and bureaucrats from both the nations conducted the meeting aiming the agenda related to WTO issues; India-EU Broad- based bilateral trade and investment agreement and investments. Both nations targeted various aspects of business relations between them and discussed the growth in the various sectors. Bureaucrats and delegates from India and Finland reiterated the preferred role of the joint commission as a forum for strengthening economic relations on both sides. The deliberations of the joint commission reaffirmed the partnership between both the countries. Both sides also reaffirmed their agreement to continue their cooperation, in order to further expand the common platform that will reinforce the existing partnerships and create space for future business opportunities.
Aimed Sectors
At the session, India and Finland shared their figures and growth of the specific sectors they are dealing with. They discussed the measures to promote trade and cooperation in the sectors which are already a part of the agreement between both sides. Sectors like Petroleum and Gas, Power, New and Renewable Energy, Environment, Cleantech, Education and Skill Development, Digitalization including ICT, Transportation, cooperation in the Textiles sector, Cultural cooperation and Tourism cooperation, Science and Technology Innovations.
India-Finland Trade Ties
Bilateral trade and business between India and Finland was calculated to be around $1.247 billion in 2014-15 and $1.284 billion in 2016-17. In 2016 Finnish companies have invested $419 million from April 2000 to July 2017. Approximately 100 Finnish companies have been operating in India and about 30 Indian companies mainly in the software and consultancy sectors are active in Finland. India and Finland regards each other as strategic business partner for comprehensive and balanced trade relations.
Source: The Entrepreneur
The MPCB’s star rating programme for industries has found about 67 per cent of textile industries to be polluting. Recent Maharashtra Pollution Control Board (MPCB) data has found the textile and sugar industries in the state as most polluting. More than half of the textile industries analysed have got a rating of three stars or below (polluting to heavily polluting). The MPCB’s star rating programme for industries has found about 67 per cent of textile industries to be polluting. Several large industrial plants have been rated on a scale of one to five stars based on their level of particulate emission. One star is indicative of non-compliance whereas five stars are indicative of compliance. “One star” industries emit a minimum of 350 mg/m3 of particulate matter. At 29, the Thane district has been found to have the highest number of “one star” industrial units. The district has also been found to have the highest number of “two star” industries (15), with Pune following suit. A MPCB official said, “However, the number of polluted industries has reduced in Thane as compared to last year. Many industries have been changing to cleaner fuels in Thane and Navi Mumbai. However, industries related to textiles and chemicals are the most polluted here. We have been monitoring the data under the star rating programme and issuing notices based on the same.” Overall in Maharashtra, 20 textile industries have been found to be under the “two star” category while 23 textile industries have been found to be under the “one star” category. Similarly, around 43 sugar industries and distilleries have been found to be under both the “two star” and “one star” categories but none of them are based in Thane. Similarly, 26 chemical and 20 metal industries have been found to be polluting in the state.
Source: Asian Age
Stake holders in India’s export trade have set up a mechanism for payment of freight and its related charges to shipping lines and other logistics intermediaries. This was aimed to curb “profiteering” in the exchange rate when the payments are made in Indian rupees. The Standard Operating Procedure (SOP), a first-of-its-kind mechanism for payment of freight and freight related charges for exports, was chalked out at the behest of N Sivasailam, special secretary (logistics) in the Department of commerce. “The issue was dealt with by the State Bank of India, shipping lines, exporters and other industry associations, after which a circular has been issued on February 18 and converted into a trade notice. It deals with how exchange of foreign exchange (FE) rate needs to be determined and this has now been agreed transparently amongst all of us. You may find a paisa up or down, but you will now not find profiteering on foreign exchange,” Anil Devli, CEO, Indian National Shipowners’ Association (INSA), said. “This is about how the freight will be paid. It’s an innocuous looking trade notice which will have major implications. We have done it in order to bring transparency,” Sivasailam told BusinessLine. “Freight forwarders will be majorly affected with this because they cannot charge anything extra; they have to attach the original invoice raised by the shipping line while billing the exporter,” said a shipping industry executive. The issue was flagged by the exporters. They told the Logistics Department that the exchange rate quoted by the shipping line, their agents or trade intermediaries for the payment towards freight and freight related charges, in their invoice, was higher (about Rs 2-3 more) than the prevailing market exchange rate. This was the case if the exporter chose to pay in rupees. Whereas, when the invoice is raised in the FE (foreign exchange), by the trade intermediaries towards freight, the amount of FE demand (or equivalent rupees) exceeds the amount payable in FE (or equivalent rupees) to the shipping line invoice towards container freight. Certain services provided within the trade eco-system are also being billed as freight charges in FE by trade intermediaries in contravention of prevailing regulations. This, according to exporters, was “having implications for logistics costs of export trade”.
Provisions of the new mechanism
The SOP will ensure that the country’s liability for payment in FE is limited to freight cost and the outgo should be limited to what’s actually payable to shipping lines. All other incidental charges for services rendered are to be invoiced and payable in rupees only. The SOP mandates the shipping line or freight forwarders / intermediaries to issue an invoice in freely convertible foreign currency as per the contract entered between them, for freight and freight related payments like basic freight, BAF (Bunker Adjustment Factor) and CAF (Currency Adjustment Factor). On receiving the invoice, exporters can either approach their authorised dealer Bank to negotiate and finalise the conversion rate for foreign currency payment through their rupee account. Exporters also have the option for paying freight and freight related surcharges in foreign currency through their Exchange Earners Foreign Currency (EEFC) account to the foreign currency account of shipping lines in accordance with FEMA rules. For payments through freight forwarders (FFs), the invoice amount raised by them on the exporters in FE or rupees, should be equivalent to the invoice received by them from the shipping lines. The exporters have to pay only the freight and freight related charges like BAF, CAF, etc. in foreign exchange. The FFs have to raise separate invoice in rupees for the services rendered over and above the shipping line charges. Other operational expenses, like D&D (Demurrage and Detention), THC (Terminal Handling Charge), IHC (Inland Haulage Charges) and other local charges have to be invoiced in rupees. The above payment mechanism will be enforced for Full-Container-Load (FCL) cargo, arranged by the exporter or facilitated by FF’s, on origin to final destination basis. In the case of Less-than-Container-Load (LCL) cargo, including transshipment in foreign locations, FFs can levy an all-encompassing charge only in rupees since the charge includes the payments in FE including freight and transshipment service charges at foreign ports based on shipping line / port or service provider invoices, wherever applicable, according to the SOP. Ends/
Source: The Hindu
Item |
Price |
Unit |
Fluctuation |
Date |
PSF |
945.99 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
11/24/2019 |
VSF |
1445.97 |
USD/Ton |
-0.20% |
11/24/2019 |
ASF |
2179.60 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
11/24/2019 |
Polyester POY |
990.73 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
11/24/2019 |
Nylon FDY |
2130.60 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
11/24/2019 |
40D Spandex |
4076.55 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
11/24/2019 |
Nylon POY |
5369.11 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
11/24/2019 |
Acrylic Top 3D |
1214.44 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
11/24/2019 |
Polyester FDY |
2024.07 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
11/24/2019 |
Nylon DTY |
2315.25 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
11/24/2019 |
Viscose Long Filament |
1086.61 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
11/24/2019 |
Polyester DTY |
2400.48 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
11/24/2019 |
30S Spun Rayon Yarn |
2059.58 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
11/24/2019 |
32S Polyester Yarn |
1562.44 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
11/24/2019 |
45S T/C Yarn |
2400.48 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
11/24/2019 |
40S Rayon Yarn |
2315.25 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
11/24/2019 |
T/R Yarn 65/35 32S |
1917.54 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
11/24/2019 |
45S Polyester Yarn |
1747.09 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
11/24/2019 |
T/C Yarn 65/35 32S |
2286.84 |
USD/Ton |
0% |
11/24/2019 |
10S Denim Fabric |
1.26 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
11/24/2019 |
32S Twill Fabric |
0.69 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
11/24/2019 |
40S Combed Poplin |
0.96 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
11/24/2019 |
30S Rayon Fabric |
0.55 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
11/24/2019 |
45S T/C Fabric |
0.67 |
USD/Meter |
0% |
11/24/2019 |
Source: Global Textiles
Note: The above prices are Chinese Price (1 CNY = 0.14204 USD dtd. 24/11/2019). The prices given above are as quoted from Global Textiles.com. SRTEPC is not responsible for the correctness of the same.
China wants to work out an initial trade pact with the United States and has been trying to avoid a trade war, President Xi Jinping said on Friday, but is not afraid to retaliate when necessary. Economists warn that a prolonged dispute between the world's two largest economies is elevating risks to the global economy by disrupting supply chains, curtailing investment and curbing business confidence. "We want to work for a 'phase one' agreement on the basis of mutual respect and equality," Xi told representatives of an international forum, according to a pool report. "When necessary we will fight back, but we have been working actively to try not to have a trade war. We did not initiate this trade war and this is not something we want." Xi was responding to questions from representatives of the New Economy Forum organised by Bloomberg LP at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Global financial markets retreated this week on fresh fears that the trade talks could flounder, with U.S. President Donald Trump expected to sign into law two bills backing protesters in the Chinese-ruled city of Hong Kong. Concerns of a broader deterioration in Sino-U.S. ties weighed on markets this week. U.S. Navy warships twice sailed near islands claimed by China in the South China Sea in recent days, angering Beijing. Completion of a phase one trade deal could slide into next year, trade experts and people close to the White House have told Reuters, with Beijing asking for more extensive tariff rollbacks and Washington countering with increased demands of its own. Delays would only bring more trouble, said Fred Hu, founder of China-based global investment firm Primavera Capital Group. "The longer the time it takes, the more variables are there, such as the Hong Kong issue," Hu told Reuters on the sidelines of the Bloomberg forum. Beijing and Washington should strengthen communication on strategic issues, the official Xinhua news agency cited Xi as saying on Friday. "Sino-U.S. relations are at a pivotal moment amid various difficulties and challenges," Xi said during a meeting with former U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger in Beijing. "Both the United States and China should strengthen their communication over strategic issues and avoid misunderstanding and misjudgement."
MORE TRADE TALKS?
China has invited top U.S. trade negotiators for a new round of face-to-face talks in Beijing, the Wall Street Journal said, citing unidentified sources. It added that Beijing hoped the talks could take place before next Thursday's U.S. Thanksgiving holiday. U.S. officials have indicated willingness to meet but have not committed to a date, it added, and they would be reluctant to travel for the discussions unless China made clear that it would make commitments on intellectual property protection, forced technology transfers and agricultural purchases. "My assumption is some tariff relief would be provided, in exchange for a phase one deal. And it seems to me as well that is the only basis on which any deal could actually be done, certainly from the point of view from the Chinese side," said former U.S. Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky. "Otherwise, this is an entirely one-sided exercise, and I've never known the Chinese to negotiate one-sided deals to their disadvantage," she said at a group interview on the sidelines of the Bloomberg forum. Officials from Beijing had suggested Xi and his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump might sign a deal in early December. Some experts said the next date to watch was Dec. 15, when U.S. tariffs on about $156 billion in Chinese goods are set to take effect, including holiday gift items such as electronics and Christmas decorations. "As we always said, we don't want to start the trade war, but we are not afraid," Xi said. In Beijing on Wednesday, Vice Premier Liu He, China's chief negotiator in the trade talks, said he was cautiously optimistic on a phase one deal, Bloomberg News said, citing people who attended a dinner event ahead of the forum. "The two countries should really ink the deal the sooner the better, at least a truce, and that will inject some certainty into the market and the economy," Hu said. "Based on this, we can clear out a consensus on complicated structural problems, and strive for a comprehensive final agreement."
Source: Reuters
The total amount of foreign direct investment (FDI) capital invested into Vietnam’s textile, dyeing, and garment industry has crossed $19 billion during the last 30 years involving 1,383 projects, according to the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association. South Korea led the countries with a registered capital of $4,798 billion invested in 464 projects. South Korea was followed by Taiwan (nearly $3 billion), Hong Kong ($2,395 billion), China ($2,116 billion) and the British Virgin Islands ($1,607 billion), according to Vietnamese media report. Several other countries, including Singapore, Samoa, Turkey, Japan, the Seychelles, and the United Kingdom, have also actively invested in the Vietnamese textile and apparel sector with capital ranging from $350 million to $850 million.
Source: Fibre2Fashion
Mid-August, barely three months after signing the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA), Nigeria initiated a partial border closure, which it later escalated to full closure. To date, the closure is being criticised as being contrary to the ACFTA spirit. In ordering the joint border security campaign via an exercise codenamed “Exercise Swift Response,” and aimed at securing the country’s land and maritime borders, the Federal Government said the closure was necessary to stem the tide of massive smuggling activities taking place along the country’s borders, with foodstuffs, especially frozen food, textile and automobile topping the chart. Since the exercise commenced, the Federal Government has repeatedly said that smuggling, which is a major industry draining the country of millions of naira daily (having defied several strategies in the past), especially along the Seme border has been given a bloody nose. Government’s claims notwithstanding, a barrage of criticisms has continued to trail the exercise, with many saying that it has adversely affected Federal Government’s trade commitment to West African countries, as well as threatened the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) protocol on free movement. Critics of the initiative jointly conducted by the Nigeria Custom Services (NCS), Nigerian Immigration Service (NIS), the Nigerian Police, the Nigerian Army, and coordinated by the Office of the National Security Adviser, are also quick to point out that indigenes of border communities, indigenous manufacturers, international travellers, bureau de change operators, cross-border traders and transporters have all been at the receiving end of government’s action. But the National Public Relations Officer of the NCS, Deputy Comptroller (DC) Joseph Attah, in countering this submission earlier, insisted that the exercise has so far been a huge success.“The resolve of Nigerian security agencies to better secure the country’s territorial integrity, particularly land and maritime borders against trans-border security concerns has started yielding positive results from the ongoing joint border security exercise…” he stated, adding that the “exercise, has received appreciable support from members of the public, as well as border community dwellers and other well-meaning Nigerians. Apart from the increase in revenue announced by the NCS, the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), has also reported a decrease in the volume of petrol smuggled out of the country. The Comptroller General of NIS, Mohammad Babadende, while also shedding light on the exercise explained that the joint operation apart from saving the country millions of naira daily, was also very effective in controlling the flow of human traffic into the country. Not long after the Comptroller (Enforcement), Customs Headquarters, Abuja, Mr. Victor Dimka, claimed that the border closure had recorded “overwhelming success,” considering its benefits to the nation’s economy and security, while a few strategic objectives were still yet to be achieved, President Muhammadu Buhari approved an extension of the closure to January 31, 2020. Since the extension was announced, local manufacturers who serve markets in the West African sub-region and access these markets by land have further traumatised as their losses and logistics challenges continue to mount. Other than some local manufacturers, lots of petty traders, who transact in perishable consumer items, such as tomatoes, poultry product, rice and other edibles across these borders, have equally been badly hit by the border closure. The huge losses recorded by these petty traders and manufacturers estimated to be in billions of naira, has been very devastating to these traders, most of whom are Nigerians. The Lagos Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI), appreciate the concern of government with regard to security and economic sabotage, which informed the closure in the first place. But it expresses deep concerns that “the demands of sacrifice imposed on businesses and the citizens is disproportionate and becoming unbearable.” According to the Director General of (LCCI), Muda Yusuf, “the effect is perhaps more pronounced in the south western part of the country being the financial and commercial hub of the country and the sub-region.”On the specific ways that the border closure has affected local manufacturers who export their products to the (ECOWAS), Yusuf said, “the continued closure has the following unintended consequences. “Complete shutdown of cross border trade (imports and exports) between Nigerian businesses and their counterparts in the West African sub-region. This has grave consequences on investments and jobs. Many industries have invested in products registered under the ECOWAS Trade Liberalisation Scheme (ETLS). These are investors, whose business models were anchored on market opportunities in the ECOWAS. These investments have been completely disrupted and dislocated.Majority of the victims of the border closure are small businesses, most of them in the informal sector. Their means of livelihood has been put in great jeopardy. This class of traders do not have the capacity to move their products by sea. “Also, supply chain of some business have been completely disrupted, while maritime sector investors have been denied opportunities offered by transit cargo destined for landlocked countries, which normally comes through Nigerian ports.“In addition to this, the closure has triggered an unprecedented hike in prices with a devastating impact on the poor.” On how best smuggling can be curbed without making legitimate businesses to bear the brunt of the stark failure of the NCS to do its jobs effectively, the LCCI boss said, “the government should come up with less painful ways of achieving its objective. “We expect the Presidential Economic Advisory Council to come up with more strategic and less disruptive ways of achieving the objectives of government, especially in the economic area. The south western part of the country is the commercial and financial hub of the country, and the West African sub-region, and the effect is much more pronounced in this region. “Meanwhile, we need to fix some fundamental governance issues as part of a sustainable solution. For instance, we need to fix our institutions for effective border management and policing; we need to review our import tariff policies for better compliance, and we need to review our foreign exchange policies to discount inherent subsidies and make the exchange rate reflect the key economic fundamentals. “We also need to fix our infrastructure in order to build an economy that is efficient, productive and competitive because currently, infrastructure financing is grossly inadequate to make the economy competitive. We need to fix our sea ports to reduce cargo diversion. Clearing cargo at the Nigerian ports is one of the most expensive and cumbersome in the world. “It is also important to point out that the Economic Advisory Council has a responsibility to offer sustainable and coherent policy options to government to save the economy and investors from the current painful policy choices. Reacting to claims that the suddenness of the government’s action suggests that there might have been some intelligence reports on security concerns across the border that warranted immediate border closure, Yusuf said, “I believe we should be more strategic and tactical in dealing with problems of this nature. The border closure is a simplistic solution to a complicated, broader, deeper and multidimensional problem. We should develop the culture of tackling the causes of problems, not fighting the symptoms. This is the way to solve a problem sustainably. One of the critical challenges we face as a nation is that of weak state institutions. This is what has manifested in the escalation of the phenomenon of smuggling. It is regrettable that innocent citizens that are struggling to make a living are now being made to pay the price for lapses of ineffectual institutions of state. The truth is that government agencies at our borders have not lived up to their mandates. It is impossible for the scale of smuggling being reported to take place without the connivance of state officials at the borders. The starting point in dealing with this problem is to get the state institutions to do their job. Border closure does not offer a sustainable solution. It only penalises small players in the informal sector. It also disrupts the supply chains and exports transactions of many big firms that do business across the sub-region. The cost of this closure to businesses is evidently phenomenal and would be in billions of naira. It also has implications for the confidence of investors as well.” Yusuf, therefore stressed the need for the government to “strengthen the capacity of state institutions at the borders. There should be greater use of technology in tackling the problem. Scanners at the nation’s borders and seaports have not functioned for over a year. We should deploy drone technology and strengthen intelligence. Above all, we need to deal with the people issues. The system should hold relevant institutions and their leadership accountable for lapses in the discharge of their duties. “There is also a need to review our trade policy strategy and reckon with the peculiar contexts of the Nigerian economy and its institutions. In all of these building, a competitive economy is very crucial and fundamental,” he stated. For the Head of Marketing, Tower Aluminium Nigeria Plc, Mrs. Amina Kehinde, local industries negatively affected by the border closure because of the sales decline that they are experiencing.“We know that it is not everything that is produced in the country that is exported, but a reasonable percentage, maybe 50 per cent of local products make it out of the country to the neigbouring countries. Definitely, the closure has a negative effect on our sales. So far, we have not been found wanting in terms of processing our materials, or in the area of operations. We have also not increased the prices of our products because the border closure has not affected our operations since most of our raw materials are locally sourced or manufactured locally. But in the area of sales, the border closure has an effect on us because many of our customers come from Cotonou, Republic of Benin to buy cooking utensils, which they resell in neigbouring countries like Chad. A lot of people from Benin, Ghana, Cote d’Ivoire also come to Nigeria to buy our products in bulk.” She said that through out October, her customers complained bitterly about poor sales due to the border closure, adding that factors like this have a debilitating effect on local manufacturing.The Tower Aluminium firm boss, who equally questioned the much-talked about availability of local rice and poultry products in the country in the wake of the border closure, said most farmers were incapable of mustering the kind of financial muscle that will see them excel in local food production, contrary to government’s claims. She asked: “Can our local production match the amount of rice that is being consumed in Nigeria? The answer is no. Now, many people have stopped eating rice now because a bag of foreign rice now costs N27, 000. I also think that we ought to have started standardising our local rice before closing the border. That would have led to the government giving us sufficient time to prepare.” Kehinde, who said that the timing for the border closure was not right, added that the closure should have been planned and executed in such a way that it would achieve maximum impact, but without adding to the sufferings of the people. “Besides, everybody thought that the closure would just last maybe for just one or two weeks, but that has not been the case with what is happening.” The Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Agripreneur, Vicky Udomi exports garri to some West African countries, while she brings in coconut from Ghana.But she is now lamenting that the border closure has affected her business in diverse ways. So, I hope the borders are re-opened soon because the cost of raw of materials within the country has tripled. I import some of my raw materials from Ghana. But to get them now is almost impossible, or the prices have tripled thereby increasing our cost of production.” Even though legitimate businesses are still going on along the Seme border corridor, she admitted that a lot of them have been crippled almost by 100 per cent. “But despite all these, we still have foreign rice and frozen foods in the country. So, I am asking, how did they come into the country after we that have been doing legitimate have been crippled? If the government wants the system to work, let it put in place all that it needs to do to monitor the border.”She, however, called on Nigerians to look at the positive side of what has happened, and how it can help us to look into adding value to our raw materials, “instead of exporting them and importing them back as finished products at exorbitant prices. Let us look at valued addition to agriculture.” She specifically urged Nigerians to learn from Ghana saying, “cocoa is the mainstay of Ghana’s economy, and Ghanaians are now doing a lot of value addition to cocoa. That is what we should look at. Those are the things that will ameliorate the sufferings of our people.” She reiterated that to stop smuggling we should allow the system to work. All our security agents should be at their duty post to monitor the border. While alleging that the country’s border has remained porous because Customs officials pay huge sums of money as bribe to be posted there, and they must make returns to their bosses, who sent them there, she stressed that that smuggling would continue to thrive if nothing was done about this. “No country is without a border, and a lot of developed countries have found ways of curbing smuggling along their borders. How do they do it? We should learn from them and apply such here. We can’t afford to continue leaving our border as porous as it is,” she statedThe CEO of Teamy Engineering Limited, Rotimi Ikugbayigbe, is another businessman, whose fortune has depleted due to the border closure. Ikugbayigbe, whose firm is into manufacturing/refurbishment of power equipment and distribution of electricity transformers said the border closure has affected the industry because “we cannot bring in our raw materials, while sales has reduced by about 30 per cent and getting worse. “Apart from my firm, I have so many friends who could not bring in their raw materials to work on transformers into the country. They ought to bring them into the country through the Apapa Ports, but for some personal reasons, they prefer to clear their goods at Cotonou Port and bring them in by road. Unfortunately, their goods are now stuck there.” While the NCS said it has so far raked in more than N2.5t as a result of the border closure, textiles traders in the North are lamenting huge losses as a result of the policy.Speaking through their spokesperson, Alhaji Gambo Danpass, the northern textile traders said their loses may hit N3t soon if the closure persists. Danpass therefore urged the Federal Government to take cognisance of the fact that the border closure is not only about keeping rice and sundry elements at bay, hence the need for it to pay attention to the genuine struggle of other businessmen, whose genuine businesses have been grounded.He said: “In the past 15 years, we have been engaged in the genuine business of importing and exporting textile materials due to the dearth of textile companies in the country, as a result of poor power supply. So, we are not doing illegal business. “We have over N3t products trapped at the borders, both the ones that were supposed to come in and the ones that are to be moved to other African countries, which have all been paid for. In no time, we will become debtors as the interests on the capital will continue to mount if the situation persists.”He continued: “Textile companies like the United Nigeria Textile Ltd (UNTL); Kaduna Textile Mills; Arewa Textile; Gaskiya Textile; Asaba Textile and Lagos Textiles; among others are no longer operating and their equipment have all gone bad. So, where do we get materials to sell if we do not import? That is why government must be sensitive to our feelings,” he added. On his part, the Chairman/Managing Director A-Brett International, Chief Albert Iyorah said the issue of “border closure may be beneficial in the long-run to the country, but in the short-run it is not because our market is not competitive. There are also not enough enablers from the government like loans, and tractors for farmers to go into mass production of food items like rice. But unfortunately, people have used their money to buy those goods, which are now perishing at the border. There are a lot of perishable goods that are now wasting away at the borders. Some of them people took loans to buy, but now they are not being allowed into the country.” Iyorah, who said some people seize the opportunity of every good and bad policy to enrich themselves, maintained that, “the border closure is not very effective because imported goods being brought into the country through the border are very expensive in the market. That is why many of my customers that used to come from neigbouring countries to buy from me are no longer coming, and you can’t blame them for that because our prices are not competitive. Some of them now have some Chinese friends, who have convinced them to go to their country and buy those goods that they used to come and buy in Nigeria. “It is the few that are still coming to buy from us now that are facing the problem of inability to cross the border. So, the closure of border is obviously slowing down business in Nigeria.”He expressed regrets that the Federal Government keeps signing all sorts of agreements that it cannot implement with other African countries. “I keep wondering whether some people don’t want Africa to develop, or they don’t want our factories to grow. The way forward for me is for the government to open the border, but control movement in and out of it. Doing so boosts trade on both sides. Conversely, the CEO of The Seed Project Co., Ltd, Kano, Mr. Lawan Gwadabe, is of the view that the government did the right thing by closing the borders. However, “it will take sometime before we will start enjoying the benefits because when we don’t have alternatives, we would have to make do with what we have. Come to Kano and see what is happening in the rice farming.” “People are now buying the local rice that we produce, and they are coming from as far as Lagos, Port Harcourt, and Enugu to buy and cart them away in trucks,” he stated. Gwadabe claimed that the N22, 000 that a bag of 50kg of local Kano rice is sold in Lagos was “not exorbitant because farmers that are producing the rice are smallholder farmers with one or two acres of land. So, there is nothing much that we can do about the price for now because we are not yet producing rice in large quantity. “It is only when rich people start investing in rice business that the price of rice will come down. Right now, many people are investing in rice milling; they are not interested in rice production.“Dangote just bought 1, 500 hectares of land for rice farming in Jigawa State. So, when people like him start venturing into rice production, the price will come down. “We can also produce polished rice in Nigeria if only the people can invest in buying the right machines. The problem that we have is that we depend too much on the government. I don’t believe that we must wait for the government to do everything for us. We have people, who have the money to invest in good milling machines, that would get the same standard of rice just like the imported ones,” he said. While noting Nigerians’ preference for investing in ventures that have quick gestation period, rather than investing in agriculture, Gwadabe insisted that the border closure remains a good move, “which will take some time before we will start reaping the benefits. The governments of former Yugoslavia and China successfully closed their borders to be able to look inwards.” One of the few local manufacturers, who appear not to be hamstrung by the border closure is the Group Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of Innoson Vehicles Manufacturing Co. Ltd, Chief Innocent Ifediaso Chukwuma.According to him, this is because “my goods don’t come in through land borders, as I ship them in through Apapa Ports. So, my firm is not affected by the border closure.” One of the few local manufacturers, who appear not to be hamstrung by the border closure is the Group Chairman/Chief Executive Officer of Innoson Vehicles Manufacturing Co. Ltd, Chief Innocent Ifediaso Chukwuma.According to him, this is because “my goods don’t come in through land borders, as I ship them in through Apapa Ports. So, my firm is not affected by the border closure.”
Source: The Guardian
The exports of ready-made garments during first four months of current fiscal year grew by 12 percent as compared to the exports of the corresponding period of last year. During the period from July-October 2019, about 19.54 million dozens of ready made garments worth $906.663 million exported as compared to the exports of 15.119 million dozens valuing $809.520 million of same period of last year. Meanwhile, the country exported about 40.246 million dozen of knit wear valuing $1.054 billion against the exports of 37.790 million dozen worth of US $ 962.862 million of same period of last year, which was up by 9.49 percent, according the data of Pakistan Bureau of Statistics. During the period under review, 172,547 metric tons of bed wear worth $817.665 million also exported as compared to the exports of 144,574 metric tons valuing US $ 773.447 million of same period of last year. The exports of above mentioned product witnessed 5.72 per cent growth in first four months of current financial year. In first four months of current financial year, about 58,030 metric tons of towels worth $251.647 million exported as compared to the exports of 60,041 metric tons valuing US $ 249.651 million of same period of last year, it added. According the data, textile group exports during first four months (July-October) of current financial year witnessed an increase of 4.10% as compared to the exports of the corresponding period of last year, where as textile sector exports witnessed about 7.44% growth in month of October, as against the exports of same month of last year. During the period from July-October, 2019, textile products worth over US $ 4.586 billion exported as against the exports of US $ 4.406 billion of same period of last year, showing an increase of 4.10 percent, it said. On month on month basis, the textile products over US $ 1.214 billion exported in month of October, as compared to the exports of US $ 1.130 billion of same month of the last year. The exports of raw cotton during the period under review increased by 0.78 per cent, cotton carded or combed 100 per cent and yarn other then cotton yarn grew by 21.24 per cent respectively, the data revealed. However, in last four months of current financial year, the exports of textile products observed decline in their respective exports included cotton yarn decreased by 2.14 per cent, cotton cloth 4.83 per cent, tents, canvas and tarpulin by 1.58 per cent, it said. However, exports of raw cotton came down from US $ 392.948 million in first four months of last financial year to US $ 384.553 million in same period of current financial year. It may be recalled here that country's merchandise trade deficit plunged by 33.52 percent during the first four months of the current fiscal year (2019-20) as compared to the deficit of the same month of last year. According to the data the trade deficit during July-October 2019 was recorded at US $ 7.776 billion against the deficit of US $ 11.696 billion during July-October (2018-19). The exports during the period increased from US $ 7.270 billion during last year to US $ 7.547 billion during the current fiscal year, showing growth of 3.81 percent. On the other hand, the imports of the country witnessed decline of 19.21 percent by falling from US $ 18.966 billion last year to $15.323 billion during the current fiscal year, the data revealed. Meanwhile, on year-on-year basis, the exports of the country increased by 6.75 percent by growing from US $ 1.896 billion during October 2018 to US $ 2.024 billion in October 2019. On the other hand, the imports declined by 15.14 percent by going down from US $ 4.801 billion in October 2018 to $4.074billion in October 2019. On month-on-month basis, the exports of the country increased by 14.41 percent in October 2019 when compared to the imports of US $ 1.769 billion in September 2019. On the other hand, the imports into the country witnessed increase of 7.64 percent.
Source: Associated Press of Pakistan
Nan Ya Plastics said that its US subsidiary would likely see orders increase because of the anti-dumping tariffs imposed on Chinese and Indian firms. The US Department of Commerce’s final rulings earlier this month that China and India have been dumping textiles in the US market have been welcomed by most Taiwanese textile exporters as a chance to compete in a fair market. The department said in a statement on Nov. 14 that it found exporters from China and India had dumped polyester textured yarn in the US market at margins ranging from 76.07 to 77.15 percent and 17.62 to 47.51 percent respectively. Based on the findings, the department said that it has imposed a 76.07 percent anti-dumping levy on products sold by China’s Jiangsu Hengli Chemical Fiber Co (江蘇恆力化纖), which was the mandatory respondent in the case, and a 77.15 percent tariff on other Chinese exporters. Indian firms were slapped with 17.62 to 47.51 percent anti-dumping tariffs, the department said. It also issued a final ruling after finding that Chinese and Indian polyester textured yarn received countervailable subsidies at rates ranging from 32.18 to 473.09 percent and 4.29 to 21.83 percent respectively, the department said. It ruled to impose anti-subsidy tariffs of 32.18 to 473.09 percent on China’s Fujian Billion Polymerization Fiber Technology Industrial Co (福建百宏聚纖科技), Suzhou Shenghong Garment Development Co (江蘇盛虹面料) and Suzhou Shenghong Fibre Co (江蘇盛虹化纖), which were the mandatory respondents in the case, while a 32.18 percent tariff has been imposed on other Chinese firms. For India, the anti-subsidy tariffs ranged from 4.29 to 21.83 percent. The investigations were launched after Nan Ya Plastics Corp America, a subsidiary of Taiwan’s Nan Ya Plastics Corp (南亞塑膠), and US-based Unifi Manufacturing Inc brought a petition against Chinese and Indian exporters. Lealea Enterprises Co (力麗企業), a Taiwanese manufacturer of artificial fiber, said that it had almost given up on the US market due to unfair competition from China. However, with the heavy tariffs now imposed on Chinese polyester textured yarn exporters, Taiwanese companies would have a chance to return, Lealea said. Nan Ya Plastics said that its US subsidiary is likely to see an increase in orders from Unifi, as a result of the heavy tariffs imposed on Chinese and Indian firms. Other Taiwanese exporters said it remains to be seen whether the ruling would result in any benefits, but it could serve as a bargaining chip for the US in its negotiations with China as the two countries seek to resolve their trade dispute. After the petition was filed with US authorities, polyester textured yarn exports to the US from China and India as of September fell to an average of 229 tonnes and 341 tonnes per month respectively, from 1,939 tonnes and 1,006 tonnes as of January last year, Nan Ya Plastics said. Industry sources said that Chinese firms facing heavy tariffs in the US are likely to sell their products on the domestic market, which would tighten competition for Taiwanese companies operating in China, including Nan Ya Plastics.
Source: Taipei Times