The Department of Revenue under the Indian Ministry of Finance has notified norms to enforce provisions for Rules of Origin to allow preferential rate of customs duties on products imported under free trade agreements (FTAs). The norms have been framed to check inbound shipments of low-quality products and dumping of goods by a third country routed through an FTA partner country.

‘Customs (Administration of Rules of Origin under Trade Agreements) Rules, 2020' would come into force on September 21. These rules shall apply to import of goods into India where the importer makes a claim of preferential rate of duty in terms of a trade agreement.

The ‘rules of origin’ provision prescribes for the minimal processing that should happen in the FTA country so that the final manufactured product may be called originating goods in that country. Under this provision, a country having an FTA with India cannot dump goods from some third country in the Indian market by just putting a label on it. It has to undertake a prescribed value addition in that product to export to India.

According to the notification, to claim preferential rate of duty under a trade agreement, the importer or his agent, at the time of filing bill of entry, has to make a declaration in the bill that the imported products qualify as originating goods for preferential rate of duty under that agreement; and produce certificate of origin.

The importer also has to possess all relevant information related to country of origin criteria, including the regional value content and submit the same to the proper officer on request.

Salaried jobs in the Indian textile sector declined by 29 per cent in July, says the Centre for Monitoring Indian Economy (CMIE). The drop fall textile wage bill implies a sharp fall in employment in the industry, CMIE noted. The leather industry too recorded a 22.5 per cent fall in its wage bill in the June 2020 quarter.

In fiscal 2019-20, India had 86.1 million salaried jobs, which declined to 67.2 million in July this year. Salaried jobs are preferred forms of employment for most people. These jobs offer better terms of employment and also better wages. Households with salaried jobs are better placed to build savings and plan a sustained improvement in their standard of living. Such households are also better placed to borrow and service their borrowing because of the steady nature of their earnings, CMIE said.

In India, salaried jobs have stagnated in recent times. In 2017-18 they grew by 1.6 per cent then in 2018-19 they grew by a meagre 0.1 per cent before contracting by 1.8 per cent in 2019-20. As a result, salaried jobs in 2019-20, at 86.1 million were lower than their level of 86.3 million in 2016-17. This is before the lockdown hit salaried jobs.

A snapshot report titled ‘Cotton with a Conscience’ outlines Australian cotton’s significant contributions to the country’s economy. The report finds not only does Australian cotton industry employ 12,500 people in rural areas it also contributes $1.8 billion a year to the national economy. The report finds the industry to be a strong supporter of women, who were well represented on-farm and in jobs such as ginning, agronomy, research and marketing. The proportion of women working in key industry organizations was 60 per cent.

Cotton farmers made the vast majority of their business expenses in rural towns and regional centers and 71 per cent made regular donations to local charities and programs. The Cotton with a Conscience report included 25 case study examples of how the cotton industry was giving back, from donating cotton towels to wires during the recent bushfires and releasing more than 200,000 baby fish into rivers, to tackling issues like Aboriginal employment and rural mental health.

Cotton Australia and the Cotton Research and Development Corporation are currently working on establishing industry-wide social targets and a follow-up piece of research that will provide further evidence and hard data around cotton’s social and economic contributions.

As per Bangladesh Customs' data on daily exports compiled by BGMEA, the country recorded about 51 per cent growth in apparel exports during the first 19 days of the current month, compared to the same period last year. From August 1-19, Bangladesh exported apparels worth $2,048 million as against $1,359 million worth of apparels exported during the corresponding period in 2019.

Experts and apparel entrepreneurs linked the growth to restoration of a large part of cancelled orders and zero disruptions to shipments during the Eid holidays. Md Shahidullah Azim, Managing Director, Classic Group, says, about 75-80 per cent cancelled orders have returned to factories. During March-May period, export orders worth $3.18 billion were cancelled and withdrawn, according to the BGMEA. As a result, the RMG sector in April witnessed the lowest ever exports of $375 million. At the end of fiscal year 2019-20, apparel exports declined to $27.95 billion from $34.13 billion in the previous fiscal year.

At present, most apparel makers are focusing on clearing their backlogs besides honoring new orders. European Union markets are also coming back to life despite the threat of a second wave of COVID-19, adds Arshad Jamal Dipu, Chairman, Tusuka Group, adding that stores in Europe are reopening and online sales too are enjoying high growth.

Buying capacity in the US remains unchanged due to some stimulus packages undertaken by the country's government, he added. Western economies are gradually turning around with more new orders likely to be placed, says Ahsan H Mansur, Executive Director, Policy Research Institute. Buyers have already placed new orders and the result may be reflected in two months, he predicts.

On the other hand, a number of buyers are shifting from China to Vietnam and Bangladesh, due to the prevailing tension between Washington and Beijing, China is also moving to high value apparel due to a workers' wage hike. If Bangladesh can grasp one to two percent of the Chinese share by diverting those orders to the country, it will be a big jump for the apparel industry, adds Mansur.

COVID-19 has been a death knell for 10,000 textile factory owners in Tirrupur as they have not been paid for goods worth Rs 10,000 crore ( US$1.35 bn) exported to different countries. This has drained Tiruppur of all its liquidity, says Raja M Shanmugham, President, Tiruppur Exporters Association. Besides domestic supply, the lockdown has also affected new and existing orders, he added. Factory owners are also been pressured to give discounts to clients in order to support businesses.

Many factory owners have been directed by the Centre and the state to take care of the basic needs of laborers besides paying them wages regularly. Though factory owners are trying to help these laborers as much as possible, expecting them to pay for their non-working days is unethical, opines Shanmugham. He urged the government to provide monetary assistance for workers.

Measures to curb the spread of coronavirus

Shanmugam urged the government to take a few steps to contain the virus spread. These include: providing monetary benefits to laborers; introducing special measures to prevent all industries – micro, macro, small-scale, large-scale – from being victimized in this process; instructing banks to forgo at least 1-2 per cent of interest rate and further reducing this by 2-3 per cent on all term and working capital loans; extending this scheme for one year and instructing the Employees’ State Insurance Corporation (ESI) to pay one month’s salary to all ESI card holders. The money for the non-card holders should be deposited in their Jan Dhan accounts.

Leveraging PPE demand

Realizing the business potential and growing demand for PPE production, over 100 factories in Tiruppur switched to producing masks and other personal protective equipment. These factories have received a number of orders from hospitals and civic bodies in Tamil Nadu and also from other states in the country. They are each producing at least 50,000 masks everyday by using about 200 tailors, adds Shangmugham.

Earlier the machines in these factories used to be placed close to each other. But factory owners are now placing them a few meters apart. Every time an employee enters a factory, owners ensure they sanitize their hands. Putting their concerted efforts to stop the spread of Coronavirus, owners have also disinfected the entire factory space. Leading industrialists say, the lockdown has broken the supply chain making raw material procurement a huge challenge for factory owners. They believe it will take more than a year for the industry to revive once the health crisis is controlled.

Apparel Textile Sourcing (ATS) will launch their second and third editions on a digital platform. The two virtual events will take place online from October 26-30 and November 16-20. These state-of-the-artdigital events will connect more than 300 manufacturers and suppliers from over a dozen countries and regions online through voice, text and video chat with attendees and buyers from Canada, the US, Latin America, Europe, Australia, etc .

A key interactive feature at these events will be live complimentary matchmaking, made available to registered attendees and exhibiting manufacturers pre-show, post-show and during both virtual five-day events.

Focus on sourcing, design and sustainaibility

The ATS October event will focus on global and Canadian trade issues with special attention on the new USMCA trade agreement, pre-exisiting Foreign Trade Agreements, Least Developed Country trade benefits, sustainability and COVID-19. The ATS November event will feature panels and sessions focused on global suppliers and US buyers, with an emphasis on the US Presidential election results and the likely ripple effects on industries ATS serves. Analysts, economists, influencers and experts will recap 2020 and provide advantages to seek out in 2021.

Both event’s seminars will focus on sourcing, design and sustainability with an emphasis on marketing, logistics, fashion, design and trade. From near-sourcing in the Western hemisphere to continued sourcing from the far East; from the benefits of automation to the affects of COVID-19 on factories, from sustainable products to a sustainable workforce will be in focus.

“In a year when physical sourcing shows are not taking place, it’s important to take advantage of free opportunities like ATS Virtual to learn, network, and meet new global suppliers,” says Bob Kirke, Executive Director, Canadian Apparel Federation and Partner, ATS .

Major brand presence

More than 2,000 visitors attended the first ATS Virtual Trade Show in May – an event that was built in a month to serve as the first virtual trade show for the textile and apparel industry. As Jason Prescott, CEO, JP Communications, the Producer of ATS Trade Shows says, “Our team worked very hard to launch the industry’s first-ever fully digital virtual sourcing fair with numerous live components, like matchmaking, back in May. The entire supply chain has accepted virtual as the ‘Go To’ for trade facilitation and discoverability.

Major brands and retailers who previously attended ATS include: Kohl’s, Nordstrom, REI, Giant Tiger, Nike, Grafton Apparel, Bealls, Burton, Canada Sportswear, brrr!,GAP, Disney, Levis, TJ Maxx, American Eagle, Simons, Macy's,Li & Fung, etc.

Pakistan-based denim manufacturer AGI Denim has welcomed Carl Chiara, global creative director, to its team.

Chiara brings with him two decades of global experience, previously working in similar roles at Levi Strauss & Co., consulting with companies such as Gap and co-founding boutique retail chain Unionmade. His extensive experience puts him in a unique position to further AGI’s mission of sustainability and circular design.

AGI is confident Chiara will bring a fresh perspective to the company as it formulates new ideas for creating during the pandemic.

AGI’s plans for the future include a heavy emphasis on responsible production, which it demonstrates with its water-saving technologies and incorporation of less-impactful fibers, including hemp and organic cotton.

Chiara started in his new role on Thursday, and noted that he is thrilled to “continue to create a truly meaningful impact globally.”

The Chinese market will absorb Pakistan’s textile yield significantly and support textile sector for its further rehabilitation in wake of COVID-19.

Gwadar Pro stated that the global economic recovery has been slow and gradual, while the Chinese economy has recovered steadily. The textile imports volume of China rose 6.5 per cent year-on-year in July, well ahead of market expectations.

Subsequently, China’s textile demand has continued to pick up significantly in August. as the orders of autumn and winter season fabric increasing, the related demands of textile have improved. In July, Pakistan exported 36,600 tonne of cotton yarn. Meanwhile, Pakistan exported $959 million of textile and clothing, only a year-on-year decrease of 5.44 per cent.

This followed a 36.72 per cent year-on-year fall in May and a 64.51% year-on-year fall in April.

According to a report released here this week, at present Pakistan’s domestic textile industry has fully recovered. Its cotton price has continued to rise in the latest week as demand from downstream businesses increased.

Textile and clothing factories have been resumed to full capacity production. Comparing with the same period in last year, the textile and garment exports have rose 14.4 per cent in July.

As a result, domestic and export prices of cotton have risen by more than 2 per cent in the past two weeks.

Data compiled by the Japan Spinners’ Association based on statistics released by Ministry of Finance, Japan reveals that the country recorded a 2.1 per cent Y-o-Y growth in its cotton fabric imports during January-June ’20 period against the same period of 2019. The country imported 117.08 million square meters of cotton fabric imports during the period. The country’s imports from China surged 29.40 per cent on Y-o-Y basis to 59 million sq. mt. This is over 50 per cent of share in total import of Japan.

Indonesia was the second largest cotton fabric exporter to Japan in H1 ’20 as the country imported 25.72 million sq. mt. of cotton fabric Indonesia marking 2.10 per cent yearly growth. Pakistan was the third largest exporter of cotton fabric to Japan. However its exports declined by 16.70 per cent to 21.61 million sq. mt. However, during this period, Japan’s import of cotton/polyester blended fabrics decreased by 29.20 per cent to 31.70 million sq. mt.

Target, which focuses on kids’ apparels and accessories, will feature back-to-school assortment for an extended duration this year so that parents can get good time to shop for school apparels. Going forward the retailer believes it has to be flexible and adaptable to combat the uncertainties and apprehensions that will accompany the retail sector in the new normal.

The retailer posted a whopping 80.3 per cent growth to $ 1.7 billion in profits in its second quarter. The company’s revenue shot up by 24 per cent to $23 billion during the three months ending 1 August, beating analysts’ prediction of $20.09 billion. Its same-store sales too rose by 10.9 per cent.

The retailer’s e-commerce sales too rose three times from what it was last year. Besides, it added 10 million new online customers in the first half of the year, with the numbers evenly divided across both quarters. The retailer posted double-digit growth in apparel sales during the second quarter, which is noteworthy considering the weak position the category has been in all through the year. It had posted a 20 per cent decline in the first quarter.