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textiles | garments


Guatemala: Apparel sourcing show to assess CAFTA-DR
This year’s Apparel Sourcing Show in Guatemala City offers delegates the chance to take stock of the first full year of the US-Central America and Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR).
India: Study commissioned to rationalise rules of origins
A study has been commissioned by the government to rationalise various provisions in Rules of Origins (RoO) contained in many agreements
Labor rights in Guatemala aided little by trade deal
Day and night, workers at the port of Quetzal on Guatemala’s Pacific coast load fruit from surrounding plantations and clothing stitched in local factories onto freighters bound for Long Beach, Calif., a flow of goods that has swelled since a Central American trade agreement with the United States took force last year.
Textile industry face misty future
How time flies! It seems like yesterday when Malawi was celebrating the extension of its free market access to the Southern African Customs Union (Sacu) for textiles but now the country only has 25 days before the deal expires.
FTA with US will not help garment industry, says US trade specialist
A free trade agreement with the US will not guarantee a competitive advantage for Sri Lankan garments in the US, says a US trade law specialist.
Textile FDI shifting from China to M’sia
Foreign direct investments are shifting back to Malaysia from China, at least in the textile industry, with some multinationals planning to relocate their operations ahead of the signing of the Malaysia-US Free Trade Agreement (FTA).
Agoa extension ‘won’t help East Africa’
The recent approval of a five-year extension of permission to use foreign fabrics in Africa’s duty-free clothing exports to the US is seen by trade experts in Washington as helping to stabilise East Africa’s textile industries. But the action last week by the US Congress is unlikely to reverse the downward trend in Kenya and Uganda’s apparel sales to the American market.
Trade bill for Haiti hailed as trigger for turning around its economy
A trade preference bill included in one of the last bits of legislation passed before the end of the 109th congressional session Dec. 9 is being hailed as having the potential to help start a turnaround in the bedraggled economy of the Caribbean nation of Haiti.
Free-trade bondage in Jordan
The Jordan-United States free-trade agreement was supposed to be a labor-rights model. It has been a disaster — ’globalization’ at its worst.
Trade bill is a major concern for textiles
In a move that is strongly opposed by US textile manufacturers, the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee has introduced legislation that will make major changes in the textile provisions of two trade agreements and also promote investments in African facilities by US companies.
USA: Labor & textile groups demand punitive measures against Jordan
The US Trade Representative has been urged by the largest US labor organization and textile group to file a complaint against Jordan for its failure to check companies from exploiting their laborers and subsequently cheating them on wages. Since the US-Jordan FTA was signed between the two nations in December 2001, this is the first time any US business group has come together with labor demanding action under the treaty.
AFL-CIO and National Textile Association file first-ever worker rights case under US-Jordan FTA
This is the first time that a business association has formally joined in filing a worker rights case under a trade agreement. The groups called on the Bush Administration to initiate dispute settlement proceedings under the FTA that would halt gross workers’ rights violations occurring in Jordan.
Garments industry ’has to wait for gains’
The garments industry may not see the benefits of the new Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with the US until early next year, said an industry leader.
A common thread of cynicism
After numerous stakeholder inquiries and intense media commentary, government has finally revealed how it intends to effect the textile and clothing agreement concluded with China in June.
Changes sought in Vietnam trade pact
As the US textile industry’s Washington-based lobbyists continue with their efforts to get modifications in the US-Vietnam bilateral trade agreement, the National Council of Textile Organizations issued a statement saying Vietnam’s textile and apparel imports to the United States are growing faster than those of any other country.
RP proposes phased-in bilateral FTA with US
The Philippines has formally proposed to the US for a phased-in bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) starting out with the garment and textile sector in an effort to protect the country’s advantages in this sector in the US market, which accounts for over 70 percent of the country’s total garment exports.
Tanzania turns to Southern African Customs Union
Tanzania is likely to enter into a trade agreement with the Southern African Customs Union (SACU) allowing the East African nation to export textile and clothing material on preferential terms within the trading bloc’s countries.
Textiles ’not negotiable’ in China FTA
Industry plans for Australia’s manufacturing, textile and clothing industries are not up for negotiation in a free trade deal with China, the federal government says.
Australian cabinet split over free trade negotiations with China
Free trade negotiations between China and Australia are sensitive for both countries, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said amid reports the cabinet is split over whether to abandon tariffs protecting Australia’s clothing and motor vehicle industries.
Thailand : US FTAs push Thai garment exporter out of the country
Thai garment manufacturers are currently on tenter hooks as the US goes about concluding Free Trade Agreements with different countries having apparel and textile manufacturing bases.