The textile commissioner’s office will soon form of a technical advisory cell for the anti-dumping duty investigation regarding import of nylon filament yarn originating from countries like China, Korea, Taiwan and Thailand. A delegation from the Federation of Gujarat Weavers’ Welfare Association (FOGWA) and the Federation of Indian Art Silk Weaving Industry (FIASWI) met textile commissioner, Moloy Chandan Chakrabortty at Mumbai to discuss the issues related to the anti-dumping duty and the Technology Upgradation Fund (TUF) scheme on Monday. Leader of FOGWA, Mayur Golwala, who was part of the delegation said, “The yarn spinners in India are lobbying hard for imposing anti-dumping duty on all the filament yarns including nylon. Since, we are from the decentralised industry, we have demanded that the technical advisory cell should formed taking the stakeholders on board before deciding on the antidumping duty imposition on yarns.” Industry sources said that the yearly consumption of nylon yarn in the city is pegged at 1.50 lakh tonne and that it is mostly used in warp and weft knitting of the fabrics. China and other countries are manufacturing new yarns to meet growing demand of the consumers. Imposition of anti-dumping duty on such yarns keeps the powerloom weavers away from getting quality yarn, which ultimately leads to increased import of fabrics and garments in India. Golwala said, “We also raised the issue of TUF. The textile commissioner has assured to release Rs 400 crore pending subsidy amount. Out of more than 9,000 files under TUF approval, the government has given approval to only 180 files. We have urged the textile commissioner to speed up the approval and release the subsidy for the fast paced modernisation in the industry.” Chairman of FIASWI, Bharat Gandhi said, “Anti-dumping duty on raw material is only going to ruin the textile sector. The yarn spinners have been forming cartels for artificial price hike and that the weavers have to pay a very heavy price.” The technical advisory cell will allow a level-playing field to the industry on deciding on the anti-dumping duty, he added.
Source: The Times of India
Global trade dispute settlement will come to a standstill from Wednesday with the Appellate Body of the World Trade Organization (WTO) becoming dysfunctional as the number of judges on the body falls below the minimum threshold of three. The US has blocked the appointment of judges for more than two years, crippling the multilateral trade agency’s dispute settlement mechanism. It has criticised the body for its “flawed” interpretation in various cases, failure to issue reports within the mandatory 90-day period, its composition and compensation to the members. Two AB members – the US’ Thomas Graham and India’s Ujal Singh Bhatia – will retire on Wednesday after their second term of four years ends, leaving only China’s Hong Zhao in the body who will continue till November 2020. However, this may have a silver lining for India in the short term as it gives New Delhi the option to continue with its key export subsidy schemes, including the one for special economic zones which it appealed last month after losing the case to the US. “We can make use of this time to introduce new schemes,” said an official, but added there is moral pressure because the dispute panel has already found fault with the export schemes. At present, there are 14 appeals in the body. Of these, two relate to India. One is against the US for claiming that India’s export subsidy programmes hurt American workers. The other is with Japan which relates to safeguard duties imposed by India on imports of iron and steel products. Last month, India appealed a WTO dispute settlement panel ruling that had recommended withdrawal of its key export subsidy schemes in 90-180 days. The panel had ruled that MEIS, EoUs Scheme and others violated provisions of the trade body’s norms.
Source: The Economic Times
Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, law minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, Reserve Bank of India governor Shaktikanta Das and International Monetary Fund chief economist Gita Gopinath are among the stellar speakers at the Times Network’s India Economic Conclave scheduled in Mumbai on December 16 and 17. The event with the theme “$5 Trillion – Aspiration to Action” will see discussions on actionable strategies that will enable India to achieve this economic milestone by 2024-25. Over the years, IEC has been instrumental in addressing critical issues related to the country’s economy. As a platform, it has brought together the sharpest minds in business, governance and policymaking and has become the hallmark of economic thought leadership. “Times Network is invested in India’s growth story and is championing India’s $5 trillion agenda. At a time when people have been talking about gloom and doom, we hold on to this agenda as something that is realisable and something that we should not leave hope of,” said MK Anand, MD and CEO of Times Network. Anand said that as leaders in the news media, which probably shapes the opinions of 70-80% of all key decisionmakers in the country through Times Now, ET Now and Mirror Now, it is the network’s responsibility to ensure that the spirit doesn’t flag. “We should not take our eyes off from the goal of taking this country to its real deserved status among global economies. At IEC 2019, we will attempt to discuss ideas and policies to convert the ‘$5 Trillion – Aspiration to Action,’” he added. In its first term, the Narendra Modi government had tackled the problem of bad loans in the banking sector, brought in the goods and services tax and put in place a bankruptcy law as it set about changing the orbit of the Indian economy. With GDP growth dipping below 5%, the Modi government faces the challenge of unleashing a new set of reforms to spur consumption and drive demand. The IEC is a platform to exchange ideas that could lead to effective next-generation reforms. The line-up of speakers includes commerce minister Piyush Goyal, oil minister Dharmendra Pradhan, women and child development minister Smriti Irani, Telangana IT minister KT Rama Rao, scholar Nassim Nicholas Taleb and former RBI governor D Subbarao.
Source: The Economic Times
Speaking in Rajya Sabha on RCEP, Goyal said: “Any trade deal like RCEP must consider that countries have very different sizes and population, unequal levels of economic development and human development indicators, contrasting levels of prosperity, investment capacity, cultural diversity and significantly different political and judicial systems.” Commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday said India pulled out of the RCEP trade deal as its concerns over a host of critical issues — ranging from risks to farmers, market access and non-tariff barriers to trade to strict rules of origin — were not addressed. He also promised to “correct the asymmetry” in existing free trade agreements (FTAs) with Asean, Japan and South Korea. Speaking in Rajya Sabha on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), Goyal said: “Any trade deal like RCEP must consider that countries have very different sizes and population, unequal levels of economic development and human development indicators, contrasting levels of prosperity, investment capacity, cultural diversity and significantly different political and judicial systems.” During RCEP meetings, India highlighted that it has a relatively low per capita GDP, compared with others in the grouping, and there are concerns about the livelihood of our farmers and employment generation provided by the industrial sector, particularly the MSMEs. “India focused on its demand for a level-playing field, fair trade practices, transparency and market access. We also repeatedly cited serious concerns regarding the non-tariff barriers to trade, and opaqueness in the subsidy regime in some RCEP countries, and sought credible resolution of such issues,” Goyal said. “In addition, to be able to take advantage of regional value chains, all countries must ensure that the rules of origin are not circumvented. Since, RCEP in its current form did not adequately address our concerns, joining it would be unfair to our interests.” While India has opted out, countries like Japan are keen on India joining back the deal. Goyal on Tuesday didn’t give any hint of India getting back at the RCEP negotiating table any time soon. “The government’s priority is also to correct the asymmetry in the existing agreements and maximise its export potential to benefit domestic industry and farmers,” the minister said. “We are working with our existing FTA partners like South Korea and Japan to address our concerns. We have also secured an agreement to initiate a review of Asean-India Trade and Goods Agreement…” Goyal hit out at the Congress-led UPA government for having signed scores of FTAs (with Asean, South Korea, Malaysia and Japan), which only exacerbated India’s trade imbalance vis-a-vis these trading partners and put the interests of domestic industry in jeopardy. “A major reason has been that India gave much larger market access to some of these countries but received less in return,” he said. For example, in the Asean-India FTA (AIFTA), we enabled greater market access by eliminating tariffs on 74.4% lines, however, some of the Asean countries eliminated tariffs on only 50.1% and 69.7% lines, he added. Consequently, India’s trade deficit with FTA partners grew substantially. The trade deficit with Asean jumped more than four times – from $5 billion to $21.8 billion —from 2010-11 through 2018-19. The deficit with all the RCEP countries increased more than 9 times in a decade — from $7.1 billion in FY04 to $65.1 billion in FY14. It may be noted that in the case of China alone, India’s trade deficit rose 33 times, from $1.1 billion in FY04 to $36.2 billion in FY14. He also questioned the UPA government’s decision to get into the RCEP negotiation in 2012, despite the experience of growing trade imbalance with FTA partners. “It is interesting that in 2006, the (UPA) government was exploring a trade agreement with China, and a recommendation was made to the Trade and Economic Relations Committee (TERC) headed by the Prime Minister for conclusion of such an agreement with China. However, it was not pursued further given concerns over the widening trade deficit,” he said. Do you know What is Cash Reserve Ratio (CRR), Finance Bill, Fiscal Policy in India, Expenditure Budget, Customs Duty? FE Knowledge Desk explains each of these and more in detail at Financial Express Explained. Also get Live BSE/NSE Stock Prices, latest NAV of Mutual Funds, Best equity funds, Top Gainers, Top Losers on Financial Express. Don’t forget to try our free Income Tax Calculator tool.
Source: The Financial Express
Direct tax collections, net of refunds, for the April-November period grew just 1.6% against the required rate of 17.4% to achieve the budget estimate of Rs 13.35 lakh crore for the current fiscal. In the first eight months of the fiscal, the government collected Rs 5.56 lakh crore in direct taxes compared with Rs 5.48 lakh crore in the same period in FY19, Anurag Thakur, minister of state for finance, said in a reply in Parliament on Tuesday. The tepid growth is partly due to the economic slowdown and also on account of the deep corporate tax cuts announced by the government in September, which came into effect from the start of current fiscal. The headline corporate tax rate was slashed to 22% from 30% earlier for regular firms while it was cut to 15% from 25% for new manufacturing units. Sources said another reason for low growth is the release of higher quantum of refunds in the first eight months of the current fiscal against the same period last year. The income tax department has processed refunds worth Rs 1.46 lakh crore till November 28, up 23% compared with the same period a year ago, a tax official said. The department also expedited more refunds during the period under review with 68% of them being issued within 30 days from e-verification of the IT returns. In the same period last year, 57% of total refunds had been issued within 30 days. “…100% of all 2.28 crore refunds issued by Centralised Processing Center (CPC) during April-November has been directly credited to the taxpayer bank account by electronic clearing service (ECS), eliminating paper cheque and ensuring faster, accurate and safer credit,” another official said. The pending refunds till November 29 amounted to just over 20 lakh or about 9% of total refunds. These are being currently processed, the officials said. At the same period last year, over 50% more refunds were pending.
Source: The Financial Express
Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Piyush Goyal and the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), Government of Japan, Hiroshi Kajiyama met in new Delhi today prior to the meeting between Prime Minister of India and the Prime Minister of Japan Shinzo Abe in Guwahati on December 16, 2019. Bilateral issues between India and Japan were discussed in the hour long meeting and Commerce and Industry Minister raised the issue of trade deficit between India and Japan and the review of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between the two countries. Commerce and Industry Minister informed the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry of Japan that balancing trade is a high priority for India with all partners. Similarly, market access for India’s goods and services with partner countries is very important but despite commitments in CEPA from Japan, market access for India’s goods and services remains elusive. Both Ministers tasked officials of both countries to prepare a time bound action plan to address all these issues to strengthen Indo-Japan trade relations. Senior officers of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry and External Affairs were part of the Indian delegation. The Japanese side comprised of officials of the Japanese Trade Policy Bureau, METI and the Japanese Embassy in New Delhi.
Source: Press Information Bureau
The official said that GST needed to be revenue neutral and that the GST Council needed to move from multiplicity of rates to one standard rate. The goods and service tax (GST) needs to be taken back to the drawing board and simplified, the Fifteenth Finance Commission Chairman N K Singh said on Tuesday.
“GST needs to go back to the drawing board. We need simplicity of rates. Whether one rate or not is a matter of debate,” Singh said, adding in its current form, GST had made compliance very difficult. Singh was speaking at the launch of a book by former Finance Secretary Vijay Kelkar and economist Ajay Shah. In a chapter in the book, the authors have proposed a single-rate GST of 10 per cent. Kelkar said at the event that given the present situation in the Indian economy, reviving growth was far more important than anything else in meeting various objectives. Shah said that at the current level of state capability in India, it was better for the state to do fewer things but do them well. The event was also attended by former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who did not speak. Additionally, a Fifteenth Finance Commission source said on Tuesday that the final report of the Commission will have a big chapter on GST. “There will be a big robust chapter on GST in our final report. We have very vital things to say about how the revenue behavior takes place. So from this point of view we have a strong stake in how future of the GST pans out,” the official said. The official said that GST needed to be revenue neutral and that the GST Council needed to move from multiplicity of rates to one standard rate. “A huge amount of simplification of procedures is needed to make compliance easier for a small scale industry guy, so that he does not have to employ a chartered accountant to fill forms. You also need to give it predictability and certainty because you cannot have predictability if you have many changes,” the official said.
Source: The Business Standard
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday said in Parliament future trade and investment talks would be based on reciprocity, only after India was assured of business growth and the security of its farmers and small businesses. His remarks came a day after he said the government would stop countries from participating in public tenders if Indian firms were accorded similar opportunities abroad. India’s stance on business talks with other nations have hardened at a time when criticism has mounted over investment pacts not yielding significant benefits even as free trade agreements led to rising trade deficit. Experts, however, say the lack of bilateral investment pacts with most major nations may hamper India's position. After unilaterally terminating pacts in 2016, India has pushed for individual deals based on Bilateral Investment Treaty. Three years later, few have materialised.
Source: Business Standard
On the Citizenship Amendment Bill, the EU Ambassador hoped that the principle of equality would be upheld. India and the EU need to sort out complex issues such as government procurement, labour standards and sustainability as part of the bilateral free trade talks that have been stuck for more than half a decade, Ambassador of the European Union to India, Ugo Astuto, has said. “We need to discuss issues such as government procurement, labour standards and sustainability. These are part and parcel of all our Free Trade Agreements (FTAs). These are complex matters. So, the discussions on technical issues continue,” Astuto said during an interaction with mediapersons on Tuesday. The EU Ambassador was answering queries on whether there were particular issues on which negotiations for the bilateral FTA, officially known as the Broad-based Trade and Investment Agreement (BTIA), were stuck. Soon after walking out of the ASEAN-led Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) pact last month, Commerce & Industry Minister Piyush Goyal, had said India was interested in pushing ahead with the FTA talks, with the EU.“We are working on the technical issues together. Hopefully, we will achieve results,” Astuto added. On the draft personal data protection Bill 2018, that got the Cabinet nod recently, the Ambassador said the process was still ongoing and the EU was watching it. “The process is still ongoing. We hope the end result will see a sufficient convergence of the Bill with EU regulations, so that free flow of data can go on,” he said. Under the draft Bill, personal data classified as sensitive such as information on financial matters, sexual-orientation, health, biometrics, genetics, transgender status and religious or political beliefs and affiliation, cannot be stored by public and private entities outside the country, but can be processed outside with the consent of the data person. Critical data, to be classified from time to time, cannot be taken out of the country at all. Asked to comment on the Citizenship Amendment Bill passed in the Lok Sabha on Monday, the Ambassador said the principle of equality was enshrined in the Indian Constitution, and he hoped that it would be upheld.
Source: The Hindu Business Line
The MSME sector has demanded a reduction in interest rates on a par with housing loans, and a lower turnover limit for trade receivables in the e-Discounting System (TReDs). A delegation of MSMEs led by C. R. Janardhana, President, Federation of the Karnataka Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FKCCI), met Nitin Gadkari, Minister for MSME, Road Transport and Shipping, and raised issues affecting the sector. The team also sought a change in the classification of NPA norms in bank lending to MSMEs, strict implementation of Public Procurement Policies and enactment of Labour Law Reform and the Small Factories Act so that MSMEs were not compared with large industries while fixing minimum wages, and a reduction of GST on job works. According to Janardhana, “the minister said he was aware of the issues faced by the MSMEs. There are policies in the making for the development of rural areas, the agricultural sector and MSMEs.” Gadkari said Karnataka was an industrially developed state and welcomed suggestions from industry bodies on the issues faced by them. He said there was a need to boost export industries and reduce imports. The Government was willing to support industries, which manufactured native products as import substitutes. Gadkari also said the Government was trying resolve the problem related to Mangalore Port. He also said Karnataka should consider acquisition of land for highways on the outskirts, so that land acquisition was easier and less expensive. This would also enable the development of rural areas. He cited the example of the eight-lane highway connecting Mumbai to New Delhi through the backward/ tribal areas, which has saved over Rs 16,000 crore in land acquisition cost. He requested the stakeholders to their industrial concerns through their associations and assured them that the same would be resolved.
Source: The Hindu Business Line
The rupee settled 12 paise higher at 70.92 against the US dollar on Tuesday amid softening crude oil prices and weakening of the greenback vis-a-vis major global currencies. At the forex market, the rupee opened at 70.98 against the US dollar. During the day, the domestic unit fluctuated between a high of 70.85 and a low of 71.04, and finally ended the day at 70.92 against the US dollar.
Source: The Hindu Business Line
A spinning factory of Alliance Trade and Industrial Company, a joint venture of Kazakhstan Investment Fund JSC and the Alliance Textile Uzbek Association of Light Industry Enterprises, was inaugurated recently in Shymkent in Kazakhstan. The unit was set up as part of an agreement signed last June between the two sides to create a joint textile cluster.The agreement was signed on June 22 at the XVIII meeting of the Joint Intergovernmental Commission on Cooperation between Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, according to information on the official website of the Kazakh prime minister. In the first stage, the enterprise has created 120 new jobs. The factory’s volume of cotton fibre processing will be 6,000 tonnes per year. Investments of the Uzbek side in the project are about KZT4.6 billion. Two more such factories will be launched. In all, the factories will ensure a two-fold increase in cotton consumption and will create 800 new jobs.
Source: Fibre2Fashion
The African Development Bank’s flagship initiative, Fashionomics Africa, launches launches “game changing” digital marketplace for the continent’s fashion creators. The pilot phase of a digital marketplace aims to help Africa’s fashion designers, textile and accessories professionals connect with global markets, (AfDB) said in a statement. The launch took place at the Global Gender Summit end of last month in Kigali, Rwanda where more than 1,500 representatives from multilateral development banks, finance institutions, governments and private sector leaders have gathered. The statement indicated that Fashionomics Africa digital marketplace website and mobile app, sponsored by the Fund for African Private Sector Assistance, is the latest innovation from Fashionomics Africa. Fashionomics Africa is a platform enabling African entrepreneurs from the textile, apparel and accessories industries to create and grow their businesses, with a focus on opportunities for women and young people. “It is the first-ever B2B [Business-to-Business] and B2C [Business-to-Consumer] platform that has ever been created for, micro, small and medium-sized enterprises that are working along this value chain,” Dr. Jennifer Blanke, the Bank’s Vice-President for Agriculture, Human and Social Development, said at the launch. “It is all really for connecting business to business, businesses to consumers and ensuring we are putting into place all we need to really transform the clothing and fashion industries in Africa,” she added. The Fashionomics Africa digital marketplace and mobile app provides relevant market information, like market prices for textiles and clothing or listings of trade conferences, to increase transparency in the sector. The aim is to connect suppliers, buyers, manufacturers and distributors to consumers and investors – to increase access and grow markets. To facilitate trade within Africa and worldwide, the digital marketplace and app operate through secure e-commerce and online payment systems. “The Fashionomics Africa digital marketplace will be a game-changer for Africa’s fashion entrepreneurs, to be able to reach regional and international markets and increase their revenues,” said Mahlet Teklemariam, Founder of Hub of Africa, an Ethiopia-based fashion platform that promotes African brands. Hub of Africa was one of the exhibitors at the Bank-organized Fashionomics Africa pop-up market at the Global Gender Summit. The pop-up market featured 43 regional fashion brands and showcased the ‘Made in Africa’ business case for fine garments. It celebrated the power of African culture as an economic asset, a driver for growth and regional integration, as well as a source of jobs for our youth and women. The Fashionomics Africa digital marketplace website and mobile app aims to increase productivity for fashion entrepreneurs through capacity building and online training tools; and facilitate access to finance through traditional and innovative financing channels.
Source: New Business Ethiopia
HFPA also updates on China tariffs
Cotton bedding, cotton blankets and several types of floor coverings are on the Trump administration’s hit list for up to 100% tariffs on European imports.
The Home Fashion Products Association (HFPA) informed members that the US Trade Representative (USTR) has published a draft notice listing additional goods from the EU that it will consider hitting with additional tariffs due to the Airbus subsidy dispute. The USTR will be accepting comments, once the notice is published, until Jan. 13, 2020.
Here are the products that may be of concern to home textiles importers by HTS subheading and HTS description:
5205.31.00
Multiple or cabled cotton yarn, 85% or more cotton by weight, of uncombed fibers, n/o 14 nm per single yarn, not put up for retail sale
5206.32.00
Multiple or cabled cotton yarn, < 85% cotton by weight, of uncombed fibers, over 14 but n/o 43 nm/single yarn, not put up for retail sale
5208.13.00
Unbleached 3- or 4-thread twill fabrics of cotton, incl. cross twill, containing 85% or more of cotton by weight, weighing not over 200 g/m2
5402.11.30
Single high tenacity yarn of aramids, not put up for retail sale
5402.11.60
Multiple (folded) or cabled high tenacity yarn (except sewing thread) of aramids, not put up for retail sale
5402.20.30
Single high tenacity yarn of polyesters, not put up for retail sale
5503.20.00
Synthetic staple fibers, not carded, combed or otherwise processed for spinning, of polyesters
5605.00.90
Metalized textile yarn nesoi, of man-made monofilament or strip or the like, other than ungimped or w/twist of < 5 turns per meter
5609.00.10
Articles of yarn, strip, twine, cordage, rope or cables nesoi, of cotton
5609.00.20
Articles of yarn, strip, twine, cordage, rope or cables nesoi, of vegetable fibers except cotton
5609.00.30
Articles of yarn, strip, twine, cordage, rope or cables nesoi, of man-made fibers
5609.00.40
Articles of yarn, strip or the like of man-made monofilaments, twine, cordage, rope or cables, nesoi
5701.10.16
Carpets & other textile floor coverings, hand-knotted or hand-inserted, w/ov 50% by weight of the pile of fine animal hair, nesoi
5701.10.40
Carpets and other textile floor coverings, of wool or fine animal hair, hand-hooked (tufts were inserted and knotted by hand or hand tool)
5701.10.90
Carpets and other textile floor coverings, of wool or fine animal hair, not hand-hooked, not hand knotted during weaving
5702.10.90
“Kelem”, “Schumacks”, “Karamanie” and similar hand-woven rugs, other than certified hand-loomed and folklore products
5702.41.20
Carpets and other textile floor coverings of pile construction, woven, not tufted or flocked, made up, of wool or fine animal hair, nesoi
5702.42.10
Wilton, velvet and like floor coverings of pile construction, woven, not tufted or flocked, made up, of man-made textile materials
5702.92.10
Hand-loomed carpet & other textile floor coverings, not of pile construction, woven, made up, of man-made textile materials,nesoi
5703.10.20
Hand-hooked carpets and other textile floor coverings, tufted, whether or not made up, of wool or fine animal hair
6301.30.00
Blankets (other than electric blankets) and traveling rugs, of cotton
6301.90.00
Blankets and traveling rugs, nesoi
6302.21.50
Bed linen, not knit or crocheted, printed, of cotton, cont any embroidery, lace, braid, edging, trimming, piping or applique work, n/napped
6302.21.90
Bed linen, not knit or croc, printed, of cotton, not cont any embroidery, lace, braid, edging, trimming, piping or applique work, not napped
In the memo, HFPA legal counsel Robert Leo noted that the 15% tariffs on List 4B imports from China – which heavily impact home textiles manufactured there – are currently scheduled to become effective this coming Sunday, Dec. 15.
“If [HFPA] members have products on List 4B and it goes into effect without change, the additional 15% tariff will be effective for goods entered into the US on or after 12:01 a.m. December 15, 2019,” wrote Leo, a partner at Meeks, Sheppard, Leo & Pillsbury.
The USTR will accept exclusion requests on List 4B tariffs until Jan. 31, 2020. If granted, the exclusion would be retroactive, he said.
Source: Homes Textiles Today
Vietnamese textile manufacturers are seeing orders decline with buyers moving to others, cheaper developing countries. Normally, by the end of a year they would have enough orders for the whole of the following year, Nguyen Van Thoi, chairman of TNG Investment and Trading JSC, which makes garments, said. But this year many businesses have said they do not have enough orders for 2020, with some reporting a 20 percent drop in orders from last year. Besides, many have not signed long-term contracts for products, only monthly or quarterly, he said. A Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS) official, who wished not to be named, said many orders have shifted to emerging countries in Africa, while competition with textiles superpowers like China, India and Bangladesh is becoming increasingly fierce. "Even China’s orders are being transferred to countries with preferential tariff rates such as Bangladesh and Cambodia." Not only Vietnamese textile and garment producers, but also its fiber industry is facing increasing competition from foreign businesses and rivals in countries such as India, Thailand and Indonesia, he added. Experts had forecast at the beginning of the year that the U.S.-China Trade war and new free trade agreements (FTAs) signed by Vietnam would help it increase textile exports, but had done a U-turn by mid-year to say there would be a lack of orders, VITAS said. This is due to a slowdown in the global economy, affecting consumer demand, and failure by Vietnamese enterprises to adopt radical solutions to comply with FTAs’ rules of origin, VITAS explained. In June Vietnam signed the Vietnam-EU Trade Agreement (EVFTA), which has strict rules of origin like requiring domestic value to account for at least 42.5 percent of the ex-works price of a final textile product. If this condition is met, goods exported from Vietnam to the EU would be tax-free once the EVFTA comes into effect whereas the average tariff levied by the bloc now is 9.6 percent. Some 70 percent of the fabric used to produce garments in Vietnam is imported from mainland China or Taiwan, VITAS chairman Vu Duc Giang said. Other difficulties being faced by Vietnam’s textile industry include rising costs of raw materials from China and lower prices demanded by foreign buyers. Vietnam is losing its low labor cost edge over other countries even as its use of technology in production remains limited, leading to reduced competitiveness, VITAS said. Garment exports in the first 11 months of this year were up nearly 8 percent year-on-year to $30 billion, according to figures from the Ministry of Industry and Trade.
Source: VN Express International
Han Bing (rear), minister counselor for commercial affairs of the Chinese Embassy in Egypt, speaks during a press conference in new administrative capital city, Egypt, on Dec. 10, 2019. China's direct investment in Egypt in the first three quarters of 2019 rose by 66 percent to 74.9 million U.S. dollars.
China's direct investment in Egypt in the first three quarters of 2019 rose by 66 percent to 74.9 million U.S. dollars, a senior Chinese diplomat told a press conference on Tuesday at Egypt's under-construction new administrative capital city, east of Cairo. Han Bing, minister counselor for commercial affairs of the Chinese Embassy in Egypt, said these Chinese investments cover several fields including domestic electric appliances, motorbike manufacturing, agriculture and others.
He added that among those Chinese investors in Egypt are Dayun Motorcycle, Konka, New Hope Group and Angel Yeast. "Meanwhile some Chinese enterprises specialized in steel, medicine, textile, new energy, garbage collection, and sewage treatment are interested in the Egyptian market and related projects under discussion," Han told reporters. The Chinese diplomat praised the "great effort" made by the Egyptian government to improve Egypt's business environment for foreign investors through issuing a series of new investment-magnet policies. Trade between China and Egypt slightly declined in the first 10 months of 2019 to 10.58 billion dollars, mostly represented in Chinese exports to Egypt. "China remains Egypt's first trade partner," Han noted. Egypt's exports to China include agricultural crops such as oranges, grapes and sugar beets, he said, adding Egypt is the top orange exporter to China with a market share of more than 40 percent. Tianjin Economic-Technological Development Area (TEDA), a Chinese industrial developer, is currently developing an area of 7.23 square km in Egypt's vital Suez Canal economic zone. It has completed the first phase of about 1.25 square km and is working on the second phase of some six square km in Ain Sokhna district of Suez Province, east of the capital Cairo. "TEDA zone has altogether 84 enterprises including 42 manufacturing companies, and has attracted more than 1-billion-dollar investment," Han pointed out. The Chinese diplomat also referred to growing cooperation between China and Egypt under the China-proposed Belt and Road Initiative that seeks common development for participating states through win-win partnerships.
Source: Xinhua
The central Economic Work Conference meeting began Tuesday and will wrap up on Thursday, according to people briefed on the plans, right as negotiators aim to finalize a phase-one trade deal with the U.S. The closed-door gathering lays down priorities for economic policy for the coming year and sets targets for gross domestic product growth, the fiscal deficit and inflation. The details aren’t released until legislative meetings in March. Almost two-thirds of 18 economists surveyed by Bloomberg this week said the target for gross domestic product expansion will be formulated as “about 6%,” a form of words that gives policy makers flexibility to acknowledge the slowdown in the world’s second-largest economy without abandoning a long-standing goal to double the size of output this decade. The current goal for this year is 6% to 6.5%. Six of the respondents said a target of 5.5% to 6% would be setChinese officials face a tough combination of slowing growth and rising inflation driven by soaring pork prices, and trade frictions with the U.S. that could be about to worsen if U.S. President Donald Trump goes ahead with a threatened tariff escalation on Dec. 15. Policy makers have sought to strike a balance between propping up the economy while avoiding an all-out stimulus binge that would worsen debt risks. The State Council’s Information Office didn’t immediately respond to inquiries about the meeting. State media typically issue a brief report on the outcome of the meeting after its conclusion. Top leaders on Friday vowed to avoid systemic financial risks next year and warned that “challenges at home and abroad have risen significantly.” The gathering of the 25-member Politburo, chaired by President Xi Jinping, pledged to keep growth in a “reasonable range” and called for turning external pressure into a driving force for deepening reforms and opening up. China’s economy grew 6% in the third quarter, the slowest rate in decades. The nation’s consumer inflation accelerated to a seven-year high in November while producer prices extended their run of declines. Exports unexpectedly declined in November amid still-weak global demand, though an uptick in imports may be further evidence of a stabilization in the domestic economy. China’s economy slowed for 7th month in November, Bloomberg’s early indicators show. A State Council economist said in a People’s Daily article Tuesday that it is not necessary to attach too much significance to the 6% growth rate, but highlighted the importance of high-quality development. “6% is not a special watershed,” said Wang Yiming, a deputy director at the Development Research Center of the State Council. The surveyed economists also saw the government maintaining a cautious stance toward inflation and fiscal stimulus. A slim majority of 53% said that the fiscal deficit target, which policy makers use to calibrate the level of support to the economy, would be set slightly higher, at 3% of GDP compared with 2019’s 2.8%. Dealing with inflation, the economists were split roughly evenly between those who expect a “ceiling” of between 3% and 4% for consumer-price gains to be set and those seeing no change at 3%.
Source: The Hindu Business Line
