Loss of Textiles in Europe Facing Torture of "Origin"

Business Club May 30 hearing Recently, the European Parliament has voted by hand to pass the second reading of the EU textile origin mark agreement. Once the European member states formally sign the relevant agreement, the European Union's textile origin mark will become a mandatory legislation, which will “origin” the origin of imported textile and clothing. As an important textile export market in China, the EU's implementation of the labeling of origin will undoubtedly have an impact on China's textile trade exports to Europe.

Trade protectors read "New Classics"

With the EU consumer's high concern for product quality and working environment in production areas, in May last year, the EU began to brewing the “origin of origin” system. After a lapse of four months, the EU Council passed a political agreement on the draft textile label, but the agreement did not include provisions requiring manufacturers to show origin on the textile label. For this reason, Italy, the European Parliament and the European Commission have voiced a strong voice and have proposed to join it. On February 17 this year, in the second reading of the relevant draft, the European Parliament explicitly stated that “the labels of textile products need to indicate the country of origin, and if the product has packaging, it should be noted on the packaging. Other businesses that show the origin of the product Documents cannot be used as a substitute for labels." Until recently, the European Parliament voted on this resolution. After the European member states signed the relevant agreements, the rules of origin will finally come to the end.

Although the current textile exports to Europe have not been put on the “chain” of the country’s origin, the attitude of trade protectionism of certain interest groups within the EU has been fully revealed. In the course of the advancement of laws and regulations, Italy, France, Portugal and other countries have always been very active. According to industry insiders, the EU hopes to effectively suppress the import growth of low-cost goods such as textiles and clothing in China, India, and Vietnam.

European Parliament official Ye Leilas once stated that the mandatory provisions of the country’s origin marking can help the European textile industry to strengthen internal management and create a more fair trading environment. In fact, following the economic recovery of Asian countries after the financial crisis, the EU’s textile and apparel imports have increased significantly from these countries. On the other hand, under the current situation of increasing inflation risks in European countries, the government can spare no effort to support industrial development. In the face of the Japanese textile industry in Xishan Xishan, it is urgent to strengthen consumer demand for domestic products and provide jobs for related industries.

The positive attitude of European companies in promoting the implementation of the bill seems to indicate that they are looking forward to the "double effect boosting" effect of this regulation on the production and sales of the domestic textile and apparel industries in each member country.

Loss of textiles in Europe or multiple obstacles "The origin of the label is small, but it is very important." The industry generally believes that the origin of the logo for textile and apparel manufacturers, brands, retailers, consumers and any one of the industry chain The importance is self-evident. The EU market is the main area for China's textile and apparel exports. If the EU enforces the label of the country's textile and apparel origin, it will not only increase the production costs of China's textile companies, but also increase the difficulty of exporting textiles to Europe.

The direct impact of the implementation of the Designation of Origin is to divert EU textile quotas to China. For example, some of our country's textile companies that have production and processing plants in Vietnam or India have outsourced the processing of fabrics and garments to local factories, while past “Made in India” logos or unlabeled products are forcibly traced to the country of origin. After that, it will occupy a part of China’s quota for EU exports. For textile companies directly exporting to the European Union, only products that are processed in Europe by subsequent processing programs will no longer have high EU immunity. Because the EU's country of origin bill proposes that at least two of several manufacturing processes of spinning, weaving, finishing or sewing of a textile are produced in the EU, it is considered to be a textile originating in the EU countries.

Second, the implicit "trade barrier" set by the EU is likely to create new trade frictions and create obstacles to China's struggle for trade liberalization and normalization. Due to the increased difficulty of exporting, when exporting textile products to Europe, the export products may be reported or returned by foreign countries due to missing or irregular label of origin, or may be confiscated because the label attached to the product is false.

In actual market sales, the implementation of the bill will also lead to the loss of consumers who pay a lot of attention to the origin of the product. Some consumers who pay attention to the product's “economic citizenship” are likely to give up the consumption in the EU’s promotion of consumption of domestic products. His country's products.

Export enterprises should guard against anticipated risks. Although the EU origin markings will have many impacts on China's textile trade exports to Europe, textile export enterprises that are entangled in issues such as cotton prices, labor costs, and power resources are not concerned about this issue.

In response to the new EU labelling system, the reporter interviewed a number of heads of textile and garment import and export companies who generally said they did not understand the situation. Zhang Junli, manager of Tianjin Garment Import and Export Co., Ltd., explained: “In general, we process orders based on orders. Foreign companies require 'Made in China' on the label, and we do so. Changes in the labeling methods of such exporting countries are usually The customer informed.” Zhang Junli said that at present, European customers do not put forward relevant requirements, so the company’s label printing on the clothing exported to Europe is not much different from the past.

In addition to the factors of passive access to information, the skepticism of export companies in implementing policies has also led to the lag in their information. “The trade policies of the United States and the European Union have changed repeatedly like a barometer, some companies have not yet had time to implement them after the release of regulations, or new regulations have been implemented during the implementation process. Unless there is a formal document issued by the higher authorities, we Usually less attention to this type of information.” Wujiang, Jiangsu, a textile company sales manager said.

However, whether or not the proposal will be implemented in the end, EU trade protectionism has shown a rising trend. Relevant sources believe that in the face of the possible adverse effects of EU legislation on origin labeling, textile companies should take precautions against possible market risks and take precautions to remove obstacles to the smooth entry of export goods into the EU market.

Zhangyu of Jiangsu Nantong Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau reminds related companies that they should take the initiative to actively respond to foreign technical regulations such as origin identification, and should communicate and coordinate with customers as soon as possible for products that have already been produced that do not comply with the rules and regulations of origin; for new orders, Labels and other similar issues should be clarified in the contract to avoid losses.

It can be expected that in the future, with the rise of new non-tariff trade barriers such as “origin labels”, China’s product exports will encounter new challenges. However, as Feng Lei, an expert at the Institute of Fiscal and Trade Economics of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, put it, although “origin labels” may increase the difficulty and cost of exporting, it is not necessarily a bad thing for Chinese textile companies. In the face of the international competition pressure of EU standards, textile companies are required to improve their competitiveness and adjust their product mix. Only in this way can Chinese textile companies stand more stable in the international arena.