Clothing Exports Staged "Ice And Fire"

At first glance, export statistics of Zhongshan textiles in the first quarter of this year were also astonished by customary statisticians who were accustomed to rise and fall.

However, it is reported that the US will cancel the textile export quotas by the end of this year.

The arrival of the "quota free" era will inevitably stir up the export pattern of Zhongshan's clothing. How will Zhongshan enterprises cope with it?

Europe's "blowout" to the US

However, Zhongshan customs statistics show that in the first quarter of this year, Zhongshan exported $106 million to the 27 countries of the European Union, up 140.2% from the same period last year. During the same period, Zhongshan exported only 44 million 396 thousand dollars to the United States, which was less than half of the EU's exports and dropped by 16.6%.

The trade volume between Zhongshan and the United States in the first quarter was 1 billion 30 million US dollars, an increase of only 1.8%, a decrease of nearly 18 percentage points over the same period last year.

EU trade has maintained a relatively fast growth rate, with trade volume of US $850 million in the first quarter, an increase of 16%.

Quotas stir the export pattern of clothing

Since then, the quota system has been launched again in Europe and the United States. From January 1, 2006 onwards, China must carry out the quantity management of the 10 categories of textiles exported to the EU and the 21 categories of textiles exported to the United States.

It is understood that in the 2006 annual textile export license number of the first tender, only 137 enterprises in our city have proposed and obtained the bid invitation license, and finally 59 enterprises have won the bid.

According to the statistics of Zhongshan inspection and Quarantine Bureau, in the first half of 2006, our city exported $49 million 60 thousand to us garments and exported US $45 million 430 thousand to european garments, down by nearly 50% and 20% respectively.

According to the agreement between China and the United States, the quota limitation period for textile products exported to the US is three years and will end by the end of this year.

At present, the news from all sides has indicated that there will be no suspense about the abolition of the US textile quotas next year.

This means that the "quota free" era of textile exports will come again.

How should Zhongshan enterprises deal with quotas?

Mr. Li, who has just returned from the Canton Fair, said, "I also heard that the United States may cancel the quota, which is a great benefit for us."

According to Mr. Li, he had bought quotas for some large enterprises in the first two years due to insufficient quotas. "A quota of one or two dollars is almost the gross profit of a pair of jeans. How do you say we earn money?"

A customs control expert of Zhongshan customs believes that the abolition of quota restrictions does not mean that it has completely opened its doors. There may be other policies to restrict the export of Chinese textile products, such as anti-dumping and countervailing, which are more dangerous than quotas to a certain extent.

On the other hand, the US trade downturn is mainly due to the US economic recession. The downturn in the Canton Fair can illustrate the problem. Coupled with the adverse factors such as the appreciation of the renminbi and the rising price of raw materials, it is not enough to pull the market by merely lifting the quota.