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The 2017 Trade Policy Agenda unveiled by the Trump administration indicates that it is not going to be easy for India to do business with the Trump regime. The serious troubles lie ahead on trade and investment fronts. This document ominously states that the US will come down on India’s export subsidy programmes, and push for a stricter regime for intellectual property rights and patents. The Trump team’s first report — 2017 Trade Policy Agenda and 2016 Annual Report of the President of the United States on the Trade Agreements Program — released by the Office of the United States Trade Representative categorically states that India’s “import restricting measures” result in “serious market access issues” for the US industry. The document sees a general trend of tariff increases in India, which reflects an active pursuit of import substitution policies. The March 2 document states that the US will engage India bilaterally to commit to a phase-out of its export The report also states that India’s trade and regulatory policies have “inhibited” the real growth potential of the bilateral trade that rose to $109 billion in 2015 from $4.8 billion in 1980. The Goods and Services Tax (GST) regime, it says, could provide an impetus to the creation of a “common internal market that significantly lowers transaction costs.” While agreeing that India’s reforms on IPR are encouraging, the document says India’s new National Intellectual Property Rights Policy should protect US innovations. As per sources, the US will “come down heavily” on India and other countries with which it has trade surplus. The US has registered its biggest monthly trade deficit in nearly five years of $48.5 billion.
Textile and garment workers and allied sectors affiliated with IndustriALL Global Union participated in a three day collective bargaining and negotiation training course from 3 to 5 March 2017 at Antipolo City. Supported by Japanese union UA Zensen and in cooperation with IndustriALL Philippines, the training aimed to equip skills and enhance the capacity of plant level union officers to negotiate for better working conditions. Twenty five local union officers and shop stewards were equipped with negotiation skills and collective bargaining strategies and techniques. Participants expressed the view that in challenging times where trade union and collective bargaining rights are under attack by corporate globalization, new approaches to collective bargaining are needed, and it is necessary for trade unionists to acquire adequate skills and innovative negotiation strategies. Union density and collective bargaining coverage are low in the Philippines, leading unions to look at different types of collective bargaining so that more workers can be covered by collective agreements. “Real changes happened in our workplace. In the past almost all workers were covered by our collective bargaining agreement, but today contractual workers outnumber regular workers, and those contractual workers are excluded from our collective bargaining agreement”, said Roland Vicencio, a union officer from Frankhaus International Corp. “Now that we are aware that this situation will eventually lead to the loss of our bargaining power and weaken the union, it is a challenge for the union to exert our collective effort to negotiate for inclusive provision of all workers regardless of their status,” he added.
Vietnam’s exports to the United States might be impacted at least in the short term if America implements its border adjustment tax (BAT) as part of President Donald Trump’s plan to revise tax policy, a macroeconomic report said.
The BAT, if implemented, would cause significant disadvantages for countries exporting goods to the U.S., including Vietnam, said the report, which was prepared and distributed by MarketIntello and the Development and Policies Research Center (DEPOCEN).
America is Vietnam’s biggest market, the report said. It quoted figures of Vietnam’s General Department of Customs as saying that shipments to America made up nearly 22% of Vietnam’s total exports last year, the highest in more than 10 years.
Statistics of the department showed Vietnam’s export revenue amounted to US$176.63 billion last year, up 9% over 2015, and enjoyed a trade surplus of over US$2.52 billion. Vietnam got US$38.46 billion from export sales to America, leaping 14.9% year-on-year; followed by the European Union (EU) with US$33.97 billion.
The report pointed out effects of the BAT on Vietnamese exports would rely on a number of factors. It said given declining domestic demand, Vietnam’s economic growth this year should depend heavily on international trade.
The report said that with a share of about 42%, apparel and footwear were the most important goods Vietnam exported stateside, followed by mobile phones and accessories with a share of 11% and wooden products with 7%.
“These products are inputs for industries that are most affected by a BAT by strongly relying on imports. Generally, it will strongly depend on the substitutability of imported and U.S. domestic products as well as how U.S. consumers will react to increasing prices of imported goods,” the report said.
The report noted for Vietnam’s top export earners, products such as garments and electronic products could hardly be substituted by U.S. home products. “As a consequence, it can be expected that importing companies such as retail giant Walmart will pass on increasing prices to consumers and, thereby, rising inflation. Consumer reaction then will determine the change to import demand and, hence, Vietnamese exports in the short-run,” the report said.
To deal with the BAT, exporting countries are expected to use monetary policy to weaken their currencies against the U.S. dollar to maintain the competitiveness of their exports as a counter-measure to the 20% border tax.
The Vietnam dong is projected to fall 1.5-2% against the dollar owing to Vietnam’s stable trade balance, positive capital account and higher foreign exchange reserves. However, the report said it is difficult to predict the movement of the dong/dollar exchange rate in 2017 now since it is heavily dependent on U.S. economic policies during Trump’s presidency.
India has long been a creator and manufacturer of high fashion for Western designers and brands such as Dries van Noten and Christian Louboutin. Now, the country’s homegrown talent is hitting the global stage and will be on show in Hong Kong during the first edition of ICE (Indian Couture Experience) on March 18. The one-day event was conceived and is being curated by Ankita Sareen Batra, a former model and managing partner of Delhi-based creative agency Green Room Creative. ICE, which will be held at a showroom in Kennedy Town, will feature a range of labels, from bridal and ready-to-wear designers to accessories brands – a mix of high-profile names favoured by Bollywood actresses to rising stars in the fashion world. Headliners at the event include designer Nikhil Thampi – a favourite of stars such as Deepika Padukone and Priyanka Chopra – who is known for his glamorous red-carpet gowns, body-conscious dresses and chic jumpsuits.
The ministry of textiles and jute (MoTJ) has sought a fresh allocation of over Tk 3.55 billion from the government for the state-run Bangladesh Jute Mills Corporation (BJMC), officials said. The amount of money will be spent on jute procurement by BJMC and payment of its different dues Earlier, the government released had released Tk 4.60 billion in favour of BJMC. Besides, it also released Tk 2.70 billion to help the state-run entity in purchasing raw jute and paying gratuity and wages to its employees recently. It is very difficult for cash-strapped BJMC to operate jute mills even after payment of its all dues. The corporation has set target to procure 2.57 million bales of raw jute in the current fiscal year (FY) 2016-17. An amount of Tk 12 billion will be required to meet the procurement target, according to the data available with BJMC. At present, BJMC is the biggest employer in the industrial sector of the country. It provides direct jobs to about 70,000 workers as well as 5,500 officers and employees supporting the livelihood of around 6.0 million farm families. More than 50 million people are directly or indirectly involved with jute and jute industry. The state-run entity is operating 26 mills, including three non-jute industries. There are seven mills in Dhaka zone, ten in Chittagong and nine in Khulna.
Cotton farmers in Zimbabwe have expressed displeasure with the poor and inadequate input package being provided. The farmers say there has been a continuous disregard of their concerns by some companies and in turn they have approached government for help. Such claims also give credence to assertions by analysts that some private companies are not providing adequate inputs just to warrant their presence at buying points. The cotton sector, which supports about 400 000 households, had virtually collapsed with production declining to record lows at 30 000 tonnes last season, the lowest since 1992. This season, the government came up with a $50 million inputs package but fears are growing that it could lose the bulk of the contracted crop through side marketing. Based on distributed seeds, the minimum crop size would be around 110 000 tonnes. Already, there are growing concerns that some private companies might have overstated cotton inputs they gave to farmers to obtain buying licenses during the selling season.
"Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Russia kicked off here at Moscow yesterday on March 12. The opening show was attended by Alexander Kibovsky, Minister of Government of Moscow, Head of Department of Culture in Moscow Government."
Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week Russia kicked off here at Moscow yesterday on March 12. The opening show was attended by Alexander Kibovsky, Minister of Government of Moscow, Head of Department of Culture in Moscow Government.
The Fashion Week opened with Detskiy Mir Fall-Winter 2017/2018 collection Born to Be a Rock Star. Daring and bright clothes of rock musicians reflecting to the rebellious kids' spirit, designer made the most use of glam, punk, hard rock and casual attributes that are so typical for contemporary indie-rock. Gleaming skirts and sneakers, pink ballerina skirts, headbands, leggings, denim jackets with patches, monochrome T-shirts with prints, black leather jackets and bombers with rolled up sleeves - using numerous pieces of this design kit one can put together a lot of interesting looks.
Evening wear for kids and teenagers were presented by the design duet Kibosvskaya & Pablosky. The catwalk featured princes in three-piece suits of thick silk and princesses in veil ball dresses. Oriental and European themes mixed in the garments: feathers and sequin with lace and flounces. Mauve and plum shades were balanced by sky-blue, turquoise and violet.
The collection L’erede was inspired by the street art. Cozy dresses coupled with leather jackets, cable-knit sweaters, ballerina skirts, 'business-like' two-piece suits - for every day, and sport costumes – for special events, every set beamed with freedom and bright individuality. Through the prism of colors, the collection looked calm and peaceful - powder pink, warm greyish brown, airy blue, white and dusty pink.
Fall-Winter collection Arcturus from Vadim Merils was all about lightness, moves, clear lines, precise cuts. The collection displayed garments for progressive youth, street stylers and trendsetters of the Big city. Military came alongside with glam-rock, and casual with clubbish wear items. Symbol of the collection is the Arcturus star that shines for all those in love, reckless and daring.
Character of the Fall-Winter collection from Dimaneu showed a girl who might have steeped out from Vrubel's the Swan Princess: incomprehensible and unforgettable. The collection featured traditionally minimalistic set of colors: garnish red, cool blue, dark-blue, white and all-absorbing black. The keynote of the collection was embroidered flock of birds and prints depicting fairytale princess. The silhouette balances from one edge to another: it is either stretched and straight, or made of puffy draping with underlined delicate waist.
Business style in the big city was demonstrated by Chapurin for Finn Flare. Shirts with petal sleeves, puff jackets and oversize dresses, loose pants with creases proved well that business environment could be comfortable. Among the highlights of the collection were large bows on the bags, massive scarves and hoods. Principal colors of the collection were steel grey, scarlet, black and emerald green.
Highlight of the Fashion Week Slava Zaitsev presented his Fall-Winter collection 2017. Signature style of the master could be traced in the entire line: from the outwear to evening gowns pret-a-porter de luxe. Luxurious garments with outlined silhouettes, trendy outwear made of jacquard and colored wool cloth, three-piece suits and cocktail dresses - feminine attributes were highly praised in the collection, even to the degree of the cult. The highlight of the collection was the bride's dress laced with fancy headwear.
Yulia Nikolaeva created an intellectual shell for a city girl. Straight cuts, A-shaped silhouettes, with one or two major color tones - seemingly simply elements gave birth to the multilayer floppy looks. The illusion has been completed with neat accessories - belt bags, backpacks and clutches. Winter-like dark but warm and thick shades of brown are emphasized by the color of ice coffee with milk.
Collection Fall-Winter 2017/18 from Alexandr Rogov impressed with the complexity and challenges: asymmetric dresses come along with costumes made of brocade, light semi-transparent blouses and skirts with finishing. Main feature of the collection was branded elastic bands.
In the presentation corner, Igor York showcased a line of handmade bags with the texture of steel 'buzz'. Acute and perfectly matching color of the bags allowed to shift an emphasis to the shape. Backpacks, wallets, clutches, hobo and satchel bags shine but due to precise lines look neat and minimalistic.
Tukatech has launched the enterprise edition of its Tuka 3D system for virtual product development for Indian enterprises and fashion designers. This edition includes all the high-functioning 3D development capabilities at a more attainable price.
As the necessity for new technologies and processes becomes increasingly more apparent in the apparel industry, designers and manufacturers of all sizes are turning to 3D solutions to increase efficiency in product development and enable effective global communication.
US-based Tukatech, provides fashion technology solutions for the garment and apparel industry. The California apparel industry uses TUKA systems extensively for digital pattern-making, grading, and marker-making. The company hopes to see a similar phenomenon in India with the onset of a more economical edition of Tuka.
Vendors, brands, and retailers worldwide implement Tuka 3D in their product development process. With this they can reduce product development time from 90 days to only seven days or increase the first sample acceptance rate from about 93 per cent to 99.8 per cent.
Not only does Tuka 3D provide an exceptional 3D product development solution, users can also take advantage of Tuka cloud, the web-based sample room for digital collaboration. This solution serves as a database of virtual samples and is also a communication platform that enables product development to take place in a digital environment reminiscent of the traditional design process.
Textile shop owners in Surat have been asked to pay property tax for the shelf space created inside the shops for storing the grey fabrics and finished stock. They want the dual property tax on textile shops to be abolished. Most shops in the textile markets have been built at a height. Shop owners have created shelves to store the bundles of grey fabrics and finished stock since there are no huge storage godowns.
A dual tax was imposed on the textile shops having storage shelves. The property tax department was asked to consider the shelves as godown and thus shop owners were asked to cough up dual tax — the entire shop as well as the shelf area. Shop owners in the textile markets say they have been paying the dual property tax since 2014 but most textile markets still do not get an adequate water supply, lack basic amenities and have to contend with an unhygienic environment.
Owners have purchased shops from realtors who built the textile markets. The textile industry in Surat is mainly engaged in yarn production, weaving, processing as well as embroidery. The Middle East is the major export market for Surat's textile products.
Pakistan’s textile exports have slumped and one of the major reasons for poor performance of the sector is the failure to cope up with technological advancement. Conversely, Bangladesh and Taiwan have adopted state of the art technology and captured a significant chunk of the international market.
In order to boost falling exports of textiles and garments, the sector has been injected with funds. In addition, export financing rate offered to the textile sector stands at 3.5 per cent, the lowest in the last 10 years. The sector has been the lifeline for Pakistan’s exports. The country is the fourth largest cotton producer in the world. Moreover, Pakistan also has the largest spinning capacity in Asia after China and India.
Pakistan wants to do exports of $35 billion dollars by 2018. The top five textile sectors have been given a zero-rated sales tax regime. Sales tax and customs duty on imports of textile machinery and cotton have been abolished. A number of projects of power generation through hydel, coal, solar, wind, and other resources have been initiated.
New export destinations including Mexico, Central Asia, Africa and Doha are being looked at. About 60 per cent of Pakistan’s exports go to ten countries, namely, USA, China, UAE, Afghanistan, UK, Germany, France, Bangladesh, Italy and Spain. Right now Pakistan’s exports to South America, Africa, Central Asian Republics and Russia are less than ten per cent of the total exports of Pakistan.
