On October 5, U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman officially announced that the “Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership” (TPP) negotiations, led by the United States and involving 12 countries including Japan, Australia, Singapore and Canada, had reached an agreement. .
TPP is a multilateral free trade agreement, its full name is “Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement”. TPP negotiations began in 2010, covering 40% of the world’s economic output. However, because the TPP currently only reaches basic agreements at ministerial meetings, each member country still needs to be approved by legislative bodies such as domestic parliaments.
Foreign trade textile companies may be hit hard
In fact, among the various provisions of the TPP, the most eye-catching provision is “zero tariffs”-the TPP in principle requires the elimination of import tariffs on all goods when conducting trade between member states. In this sense, the conclusion of the TPP agreement is not good news for the Chinese economy and even the textile industry. For example, according to TPP regulations, all processes and raw material production after “starting from yarn” for textile products must be carried out in TPP member countries in order to enjoy zero tariff treatment in 12 countries.
Some people have pointed out before that “Once the TPP is reached, Vietnam will be the biggest winner.” The Peterson Institute for International Economics seems to echo this view in a report released recently, on the grounds that Vietnam’s largest export industry is the textile industry, clothing and shoes. category, after the TPP began to be put into practice, the tariffs on Vietnamese clothing and footwear exported to the United States immediately dropped from the current 17% to 32% to zero. Non-TPP members may be affected by the trade diversion effect, with China being the most affected.
Recently, Ji Liuyan, manager of the product development department of Hangzhou Xiaoshan Yuyuan Chemical Fiber Co., Ltd., said frankly in an interview with reporters that at present, the industry is most worried about the obstruction of sales channels for textile products, and the current quality and brand of textile products need to be re-established, especially Some export-oriented textile companies may be seriously damaged. “Previously, the focus of China’s textile industry projects was the number of 6 billion people in the world. Once the TPP is implemented, the number of people digesting it may be greatly reduced, so there will be overcapacity.” Ji Liuyan said.
Ji Liuyan believes that TPP may bring two results to China’s textile industry. One is that Chinese textile companies will go to TPP member countries, such as Vietnam to invest and build factories, and the other is that China will face an unprecedented low-price competition. However, he also bluntly said that although the TPP will have a negative impact on China’s textile industry, it will also further promote the transformation of China’s textile industry from a big country to a powerful country. “This pressure is the key to forcing Chinese textile companies to step out of low-quality and low-price competition.” One step. Compared with the downturn of China’s textile industry from 2012 to 2014, the textile industry has now begun to recover. TPP will not stop the recovery process of the textile industry, but will only speed up the upgrading of the textile industry.”
The construction of the textile industry chain of member states will be stimulated
What are the impacts of TPP on China’s textile industry? How big of an impact will it have? In this regard, the reporter interviewed Sun Huaibin, deputy secretary-general and director of the News Center of the China National Textile and Apparel Federation.
He believes that the impact of TPP on China’s textile industry will come from two aspects. First, TPP will promote trade liberalization among member countries and achieve zero tariffs. This also means that non-member countries will be more or less subject to trade discrimination when entering the trade circle, which will form a kind of trade diversion. The manifestation of trade diversion is that TPP member countries will not trade with or reduce trade with China; On the one hand, it comes from the rules of origin of the TPP, that is, when Chinese companies invest and set up factories in the TPP trade circle, they must comply with the rules of origin in order to enjoy preferential policies. This will stimulate the construction of the domestic industrial chain of TPP members, and for China’s textile industry In terms of industry, the connection between the upstream and downstream of the industrial chain will be affected, and there may even be a break in the industrial chain.
Sun Huaibin also pointed out that along with the trade diversion brought about by TPP, it will also bring about the transfer of China’s textile industry. However, he emphasized that currently, my country has signed bilateral trade agreements with many members of the TPP, such as South Korea and Australia. Therefore, my country and these countries will gradually achieve trade liberalization and zero tariffs, thus reducing or offsetting the impact of the TPP on China. Negative impact.
Tian Li, a researcher at the China Textile Economics Research Center, also bluntly said in an interview with reporters that the TPP will indeed dilute to some extent the dividends brought by China’s accession to the WTO for China’s participation in economic globalization.
However, she believes that Chinese textile companies must not regard the TPP as a trade rule that restricts China’s development. “At least as far as the TPP is concerned, this is a competition mechanism with a healthy and upward goal. Turning disadvantages into advantages, from individuals to countries, is the basic ability and quality that must be possessed if they want to make progress.”
In fact, from the current point of view, the textile, footwear and clothing industries in Vietnam, Malaysia, Thailand and other places are developing rapidly, but most of them are stuck in some simple garment processing links, such as fabric and auxiliary material production, high-end printing and dyeing and other high-tech industries. The link still depends on the Chinese market. For example, some clothing companies in Thailand that produce T-shirts, underwear, etc. still need to send some more complex printing and dyeing processes back to coastal China for processing, because the local craftsmanship level is still low.��, that is to say, starting from the yarn, it must be produced in the TPP area. Furthermore, everything from spinning, weaving, dyeing and finishing to garment production is strictly required to be manufactured within the TPP area.
Theoretically, the benefits of Vietnam, Malaysia and other countries will squeeze out China’s market share. However, at present, the textile industry chain of Vietnam and other countries is still incomplete. Raw materials, auxiliary materials and intermediate products still need to be imported from China in large quantities. This pattern will not change easily in the foreseeable period. Today, China’s textile foreign trade volume accounts for one-third of the world’s total textile trade. This position cannot be shaken by anyone. Behind this is the strong manufacturing capacity accumulated by China’s textile industry over decades.
The TPP may promote the intensification of industrial transfer, but the fundamental driving force that determines industrial transfer is the drive of comprehensive costs and industrial competitiveness. Without this agreement, the transfer of low-end production capacity overseas has already been in progress. It is not a bad thing to transfer domestic excess low-end production capacity overseas. This is a general trend in the adjustment of international industrial structure.
There is actually no need for Americans to exclude us from the TPP. Facing China’s huge market, they must be full of desire. Besides, our textiles already account for one-third of the U.S. market share. If China withdraws, no country in the world can fill the gap.
Just like when China joined the WTO, free trade is a double-edged sword. Whether to join or not depends on the outcome of the game between the two parties. When China joined the WTO, my country’s textile exports were only over 50 billion US dollars. More than ten years later, our exports have reached nearly 300 billion US dollars. No one will turn a blind eye to this. In terms of quality, delivery time, cost, and products, we all have strong competitiveness.
The development of things always has two sides. The huge size of our textile industry also makes the world have a sense of fear. They do not want to put their eggs in one basket and do not want to see a situation where one company is dominant. For us, we are stronger and we should indeed take on more responsibilities. We, the Chinese, are the new chairman of the International Textile Federation. This in itself is recognition of us by the international community. It also shows that the international textile community hopes that China will assume more responsibilities and that the Chinese will examine the development of the industry from a global perspective.
The arrival of TPP is actually a good thing. Whether it is regional trade or bilateral trade, as long as trade is smooth, there will be hope for the recovery of the world economy and there will be more room for our exports. In today’s world economy, there must be me among you and you among me. Therefore, when facing the TPP, we should still uphold an open and inclusive attitude. The world is diverse. No matter how it changes, the most important thing is to be ourselves so that others cannot and cannot bypass us. I’m afraid it will take several years before TPP is actually implemented. By then, we will already be a textile power and our voice in the world will be greatly enhanced.
TPP must not be viewed as a trade rule that restricts China’s development. At least as far as the TPP is concerned, this is a competition mechanism with healthy and upward goals. Turning disadvantages into advantages, from individuals to the country, are the basic abilities and qualities that must be possessed if we want to make progress.
Don’t regard TPP as a strict curse. Free trade is a double-edged sword.
On October 5, U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman officially announced that the “Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership” (TPP) negotiations, led by the United States and involving 12 coun…
This article is from the Internet, does not represent Composite Fabric,bonded Fabric,Lamination Fabric position, reproduced please specify the source.https://www.yjtextile.com/archives/10992