Question marks over TPP status for Vietnamese apparel
14/08/2013
TPP proposes free trade among Australia, Brunei, Chile, Canada, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States, and Vietnam. It could come into force as soon as the end of 2013.
However, under current proposals, for garments to qualify for TPP status, they have to be produced using raw materials from a TPP country. Vietnam’s garment and textile industry remains reliant on imported raw materials from many countries that are not TPP members, including China, the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (Vitas), has warned.
According to Vitas, 98% of the cotton yarn its members used to make clothes in 2012 was imported, as were 88% of the finished fabrics they used.
In the first seven months of this year, the sector earned $9.6 billion from garment and textile exports, a year-on- year increase of 16.3%. But over the same period the money Vietnamese manufacturers spent on sourcing imported raw materials increased by 18.2%, to reach $7.6 billion.
Some Vietnamese garment manufacturers have said they expect TPP negotiators to agree that Vietnam, along with Malaysia and Mexico, will be able to continue to import raw materials from non-TPP member countries and still receive duty-free status.
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