Vietnam’s textile-garment heavily relies on imported fabrics. (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam’s textile-garment industrystill relies heavily on imported materials, with domestic producers importing86 percent of their fabrics, according to the Vietnam Textile and ApparelAssociation (VITAS).
The Ministry of Trade and Industry revealed that thecountry imported 3.3 million USD worth of fabrics in the first four months of2017, up 6.75 percent from the same period last year, largely because Vietnamese-madefabrics are still below the standards of foreign markets.
The fabrics were mostly originated from Asian countries,with China accounting for 52 percent of the imports.
Once the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement comes intoforce, the EU will eliminate tariffs on textile and garment products fromVietnam. However, the agreement will impose long transition phase of up to 7years for textiles and garments as it is among products sensitive to EUproducers.
Furthermore, the strict rules-of-origin scheme willlikely stop Vietnamese manufacturers from immediately benefiting from the deal.Vietnam will have to satisfy “double transformation” rules-of-origin in returnfor full-fledged tariff removal that requires weaving and sewing and allsubsequent manufacturing stages to be carried out within Vietnam.
The move aims to cut inputs from suppliers in countriesoutside of the agreement.-VNA
VNA
