Rwanda has expressed its willingness for further discussions with the United States on the dispute of imports of second hand clothes, despite the elapse of the deadline.
Earlier, the US had given Rwanda time till May 30, 2018 to review its stance on used clothes entering the country.
Rwanda had increased the tariffs on imported used clothes from $0.20 to $2.50 per kilo in 2016 with an intention of eventually phasing out the importation. The move is likely to boost its local manufacturing sector.
Rwanda is relying on major clothes manufacturers as the country seeks to phase out import of second hand clothes and promote made in Rwanda products.
It has undertaken several projects to boost the local industry. Some of these include the C&H Garment established at Kigali Special Economic Zone and UTEXRWA and Kigali Garment Centre (KGC), a company with over 400 shareholders tailors raising Rwf3 billion to start a clothing factory.
