“Triple barriers” restrict textile and apparel exports

Textiles and clothing are important export commodities in Ningbo and are also my country’s traditional advantageous industries. In recent years, my country’s textile industry exports have frequently suffered setbacks due to the “triple barriers” of foreign security, green and tariffs. According to statistics, from January to September 2014, my country’s textile and apparel exports were US$221.89 billion, a year-on-year increase of 5.9%, and the growth rate decreased by 6.0 percentage points year-on-year. During the same period, as many as 1,027 batches of my country’s textile and apparel exports were returned by foreign countries, with a value of US$56.093 million, a year-on-year increase of 36.2% and 69.5%. The export risks of the textile industry need urgent attention.
​The “safety barriers” for children’s clothing and other products have become increasingly strict
Due to the special nature of children’s clothing, its safety issues have increasingly become the focus of major trading countries. According to statistics, in the first nine months of this year, the European Union, the United States and Canada reported a total of 174 cases of substandard textiles and clothing in my country, and 166 cases were reported for children’s clothing, accounting for 95.4% of the total notifications. Among them, children’s clothing was strangled due to the presence of ropes. Safety hazards such as the risk of suffocation and the risk of small parts in clothing accessories have become the main issues reported. In the first nine months of this year, WTO member states issued a total of 45 TBT notifications on textiles and clothing, a year-on-year increase of 28.5%. The safety requirements of developing countries for textiles, including children’s clothing, have gradually aligned with developed countries, making it more difficult to respond.
​The “green barriers” for ecological textiles are becoming increasingly stringent
The 2014 edition of the International Environmental Protection Textile Association’s testing standards and limit values ​​for ecological and environmentally friendly textiles has officially come into effect in April 2014. The new version of the standard has stricter requirements on the content of substances such as perfluorooctanoic acid, nonylphenol, and nonylphenol polyoxyethylene ether. For example, the limits of nonylphenol and octylphenol have been tightened from 50 mg/kg in 2013 to 10 mg/kg. . Due to technical level and cost reasons, nonylphenol and other substances are still widely used in my country’s textile industry. According to statistics, 47,000 tons of domestically produced nonylphenol are currently used in the laundry industry, textile and clothing cleaning, printing and dyeing processes every year. The use of environmentally friendly additives will not only increase costs, but also require a large amount of investment in process and equipment upgrades. It will be difficult to popularize in the short term. In addition, the EU’s requirements for pentachlorophenol, biopesticides and other projects have extended the management of enterprises to the storage and transportation of textile raw materials and products, putting great pressure on small and micro enterprises that do not have mature quality management systems.
​The “tariff barriers” against my country continue to escalate
In recent years, emerging market countries such as Brazil, Indonesia, Egypt, etc. have launched a series of anti-dumping investigations on domestically produced yarns, staple fibers and other textile raw materials, as well as finished products such as clothing. The continuous introduction of trade restrictions has seriously affected the development of my country’s textile enterprises. The pace of new markets. Take Peru, an emerging market country, as an example. my country exports more than 180 million pieces of clothing to Peru every year. However, the Peruvian Fair Competition and Intellectual Property Protection Bureau began to impose a levy of US$0.14 on 34 types of textile and clothing products in five categories, including shirts, in December last year. Anti-dumping duties of US$1.00/unit and US$1.00/unit account for 51% of my country’s total exports of clothing to Peru. According to conservative predictions from Peruvian official data, Chinese companies will pay more than US$25 million in additional tariffs to Peru every year.
​Implement the “Three Stricts” and break through barriers
The pursuit of environmental protection and safety of consumer goods such as textiles and clothing is an inevitable trend of economic development. The increasingly stringent market thresholds are not only a challenge to enterprise development, but also an opportunity for enterprise transformation and upgrading. The inspection and quarantine department reminds export enterprises that they can start from Start from three aspects and prepare articles to deal with barriers. First, strictly carry out product safety standard learning. The design department and production department must design and produce in accordance with product safety standards. For children’s clothing and other products, safety risks caused by drawstrings and small accessories should be strictly prevented. The second is to strictly control raw and auxiliary materials. Enterprises should accelerate the exploration of application research on environmentally friendly raw materials and auxiliary materials, reduce and eliminate the use of toxic and hazardous substances, continuously improve production processes, and improve product quality. The third is to pay close attention to the dynamics of emerging markets. Enterprises should increase their efforts to diversify the international market and adjust product types in a timely manner according to market dynamics to avoid trade risks caused by an overly single market.