Jordan’s garment exports are expected to grow by at least eight per cent this year. The US is Jordan’s number one export market. The country’s garment exports to the European Union are also expected to increase, in light of the simplified rules of origin agreement. These allow for Jordanian manufacturers to export local products to the EU with up to 70 per cent of the product’s make-up comprising imported materials.

Still, the sector faces several challenges. They include the absence of trained and qualified local labor, high borrowing costs and lack of experience among leaders of the sector’s small and medium sub segment.

Of these challenges, the percentage of foreign labor in the sector is the most pressing issue. About 75 per cent workers in the sector are foreign laborers. Factory owners feel hiring foreign labor is cheaper. Many Jordanian youths think they are overqualified to be working in factories. Jordanians who hold degrees tend to not only avoid working in garment factories, but in any job that includes physical labor. They prefer to find a job that society deems prestigious. Jordanian workers are not inclined to work overtime, which is another reason the sector leans towards employing a foreign workforce.

Indorama Ventures is taking steps to effectively reduce emissions. The company has developed a policy and strategic framework within which to take action and reduce negative climate change impacts. It is fully committed to finding pathways to develop effective low-carbon strategies that alleviate climate change. Its aspiration is to be a world-class chemical company making great products for society, growth resting on positive environmental and social continuity as well as ethical performance.

Chemical producer IVL now operates on a global scale of an integrated polyester value chain and HVA platform, with a more resilient product and geographic mix. Indorama’s fiber portfolio includes polyester fibers and yarns, polyolefin fibers and bicomponent fibers for various applications, including apparel.

The company will continue to pursue value accretive opportunities in its key segments to further strengthen the foundations of sustainable performance. The strategy to drive sustainable and profitable growth in both high-volume necessities and the stable but high margin and high value-added HVA business continues. The company further upgraded its portfolio through organic growth, operational excellence initiatives, value accretive acquisitions and strategic integrations.

Indorama joins companies that are making efforts to prevent dangerous climate change and environmental damage. Industry fundamentals continue to be positive, led by strong demand growth for 100 per cent recyclable PET, supply balance and on-going improvements seen in the PET industry.

Several local fabric manufacturers are participating in Dhaka International Trade Fair (DITF) to market their products amongst both local and foreign clients. Bexi Fabrics is displaying hundreds of items for men, women and children. Visitors prefer Brexi products due to their quality and competitive prices. The manufacturer is selling its products at wholesale prices on the occasion of the fair.

Classical Hometex aims to attract the attention of foreign buyers. The brand is exhibiting over 500 categories of bed sheets with hundreds of color combinations. Customers can buy a standard bed sheet at Tk 700 to Tk 1,500 and high-end bed sheet for Tk 2,000 to Tk 4,500.

Father Textile Mills, a concern of Asian Group, is displaying suiting and shirting fabrics of more than 700 types of designs. Most of the company’s fabrics are supplied to local readymade garment sector.

Bangladesh exports home textile products, including bed sheets, bedspreads, pillows, pillow covers, cotton table napkins, furnishing fabrics, curtains, window and door curtains, cushions, cushion covers, carpets, table covers, kitchen accessories, mattress covers and bath linens.

Direct-to-consumer denim brands have stepped up to ensure consumers make the best purchasing decision. Brands selling jeans via digital-only channels need foresight, an astute eye for fabrics, nimbleness and effective communication to sell.

More than the price benefits associated with shopping direct-to-consumer, men like the brands’ home try-on program. Since men don’t like shopping and don’t like going to the mall shopping online feels more natural. Brands are educating consumers about the benefits of shopping direct-to-consumer brands.

Warp + Weft, based in Pakistan, is a direct-to-consumer men’s and women’s line of size inclusive denim launched in 2017. The jeans are produced in an energy efficient, fully-integrated manufacturing facility. Forty per cent of the business comes from men’s. The brand is introducing a tech platform aimed at offering men a more personalized experience.

Jeans with a tech element, be it four-way stretch for 360-degree movement, or a left-hand weave jean with a soft hand feel, connect with men. While women are more concerned with aesthetic, for men, comfort is king. Comfort, technology and easy accessibility speak to men in a big way. The fact that direct-to-consumer denim brands are not itching to rewrite the fashion playbook allows them to invest and focus on building men’s items with lasting power.

An improvement in US-China trade relations has started to hurt India’s cotton yarn exports. The US-China tariff war had benefited India. Between June and September 2018, the US announced high customs duties on several Chinese goods and China retaliated by increasing levies on US goods. Consequently, India’s exports to the neighboring country increased by about 32 per cent during the June-November period. India’s exports of cotton yarn to China in April to November were up 2.5 per cent.

Also, earlier, the Chinese had put duties on American cotton so there was pressure to buy from India. Now the situation has eased. Chinese importers have renegotiated orders of Indian cotton yarn worth $500 million in the past few weeks. Importers, import agents and Chinese bankers have defaulted, renegotiated confirmed orders or even cancelled shipments and letters of credit on contracts without assigning proper reasons.

China is slowing and fears losing competitiveness if the second round of American tariffs, which includes apparel, comes into effect from March. The country may want to cut down on inventory. While China is the largest importer of cotton yarn, with a share of 46.7 per cent globally, India remains the largest exporter of cotton yarn in the world.

The Barcelona Fashion Summit 2019, which will be held on February 5 at Teatre Nacional de Catalunya (TNC) in Barcelona will witness the participation of executives from companies like Inditex, Mango, Tendam, Desigual and Tous, as well as experts from consultancies like Deloitte or EY. The congress, titled ‘Fashion Año 0: Claves para reinventar el negocio de la moda (Fashion Year 0: Keys to reinvent fashion business)’, will be organised by Modaes.es in collaboration with 080 Barcelona Fashion and has the sponsorship of Board, Facebook, Minsait (an Indra company) and TecnoCampus.

The first conference of the day will be conducted by Chiqui Calleja, co-founder of the restaurant group Larrumba, who will present his case in the restoration sector. The first round table titled La moda, a vista de ‘outsider’ (Fashion, from the point of view of an outsider), will involve fashion executives such as Daniel Muñoz, IT Director at Desigual and with experience in groups like Conforama or Caprabo; Andrés López, Operations Director at Pepe Jeans and former at Johnson Controls Automotive and Camper; or José María Ruiz, who joined GOCCO in 2017 as CEO after working at Juguettos and Telepizza.

Dimas Gimeno, former President , El Corte Inglés, will analyse the challenges that the retail sector must address Managers from Inditex, C&A, Pepe Jeans or Tendam will complete the program of the largest congress about fashion business in Spain

In the last fiscal year, Bangladesh's overall export earnings from the UK saw an 11.76 per cent growth. In fiscal 2016-17, export growth to the UK was 12.63 per cent. In the July-December period of the current fiscal year, Bangladesh apparel exports to the UK were up by 1.30 per cent from the previous year. In the same period last year, the growth was 20.70 per cent.

Tensions over Brexit have slowed down Bangladesh's export growth to the UK. Earnings from the European country during the first half of the current fiscal year posted only a 3.16 per cent increase. The UK is the third largest market for Bangladeshi goods. Since there was a slowdown in the UK economy due to the Brexit deal, importers went slow to import goods to observe the trade policy in the aftermath of the EU divorce.

Over the prevailing uncertainty of Brexit, UK importers went slow, affecting the import of goods from Bangladesh. Considering the trade policy after Brexit, importers in the UK did not place additional work orders. On the other hand, economic slowdown in that country, caused by slower job growth and GDP growth, has cut the demand for goods. However, the UK has committed to providing duty and quota-free market access, even after Brexit is completed.

Adidas plans to double its production of shoes containing recycled plastic waste, from five million to 11 million pairs of shoes in 2019. The brand intercepts plastic waste on beaches before it reaches the oceans in collaboration with environmental organisation Parley for the Oceans. This upcycled plastic waste is then made into a yarn which becomes a key component of the upper material of Adidas footwear. In 2018, the brand saved more than 40 tonnes of plastic waste in its offices, retail stores, warehouses and distribution centres worldwide and replaced it with more sustainable solutions.

Adidas recently signed the Climate Protection Charter for the Fashion Industry at the UN Climate Change Conference in Poland, and agreed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 30 per cent in 2030. Adidas is also committed to using only recycled polyester in every product and on every application where a product exists by 2024.

"The anticipated impact of the CPTPP will be immense, as slashed tariffs encourage significant shifts in global supply chains. Its high-standard provisions on the digital economy, investment, financial services, labor and the environment establish new "rules of the road" that will have a broad country-specific and collective impact. CPTPP includes high-standard chapters covering customs and trade facilitation, standards and technical barriers to trade, investment, services, intellectual property, e-commerce, government procurement, SOEs; labor, environment, regulatory coherence, transparency and more."

The anticipated impact of the CPTPP will be immense, as slashed tariffs encourage significant shifts in global supply chains. Its high-standard provisions on the digital economy, investment, financial services, labor and the environment establish new "rules of the road" that will have a broad country-specific and collective impact. CPTPP includes high-standard chapters covering customs and trade facilitation, standards and technical barriers to trade, investment, services, intellectual property, e-commerce, government procurement, SOEs; labor, environment, regulatory coherence, transparency and more.

Impact on various countries

As the CPTPP opens new markets and, in some cases, imposes new rules on domestic treatment of data, intellectual property, labor rights, and more, each country has a unique set of economic and political circumstances to consider. Some of these impacts on the following countries will include:

Australia: The CPTPP will help support Australian businesses to grow and see annual benefits of up to [AUD]$15.6 billion to the national economy by 2030. However, despite these anticipated benefits, some economists estimate the ultimate real national income boost to be just 0.5 percent by 2030—the lowest of all Parties..

Canada: The CPTPP represents a significant opportunity for Canada to diversify its trade links and build stronger export markets in Asia. The country’s food and agriculture industry in particular is poised to benefit, gaining preferential access where it currently faces high tariffs, such as in Japan, Vietnam and Malaysia. Overall, Canada's GDP gains are estimated at $4.2 billion, higher than under the TPP, because it is no longer competing with the United States under the same agreement.

Japan: The CPTPP serves to set a floor for the anticipated US-Japan FTA negotiations, and could also give Japan leverage in the midst of other ongoing negotiations, including those for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

Mexico: The CPTPP allows Mexico to have FTAs with six additional Asia-Pacific nations, including Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore and Vietnam. Its transparent membership process could allow Mexico to exploit new trade and investment relationships with other Asian countries and Latin American neighbors. Mexico will benefit not only from non-tariff barriers with its CPTPP partners, but also from wide treaty coverage and strict protections in several areas, such as digital trade, regulatory coherence, intellectual property rights (IPR), SOEs, services, labor and environment, transparency and corruption.

Other countries, including Colombia, Indonesia, the Philippines, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, and the United Kingdom, have indicated varying degrees of interest in joining the Agreement.

US to rejoin agreement

Following the US midterm elections on November 6, 2018, where Democrats attained a majority in the House of Representatives, it is possible that trade policy priorities will shift slightly. However, the speed with which the United States could potentially join the CPTPP, seek to improve the agreement, or consider other options would depend on the terms and conditions of its accession.

Using the agreement to mitigate economic impact

With the US-China trade war escalating, some CPTPP members may use the agreement to mitigate some potential economic impact. For example, Vietnam's economy is highly dependent on exports, a quarter of which go to China. Demand may slip, especially for those goods which are re- exported to the United States. The CPTPP, then, will open up new export markets and other opportunities.

"However, the present India-UK trade relationship does not look particularly special. In 2016, the UK was the fifth-largest export destination for Indian exports, behind the USA, the UAE, Hong Kong and China. It accounted for only 3.3 percent of Indian exports, valued at $8.66 billion (€7.6 billion). This is miniscule in comparison to the almost 16 per cent of Indian goods exported to other EU countries. In terms of imports, the UK is not a significant exporter for the Indian market and overall, it barely scrapes into India's top 20 trade partners."

Once the UK manages to cast off the EU's yoke, it will be able to strike its own trade deals with countries around the world. This inevitably places India high up on its wish list.

UK, a miniscule part of India’s exports

However, the present India-UK trade relationship does not look particularly special. In 2016, the UK was the fifth-largest export destination for Indian exports, behind the USA, the UAE, Hong Kong and China. It accounted for only 3.3 percent of Indian exports, valued at $8.66 billion (€7.6 billion). This is miniscule in comparison to the almost 16 per cent of Indian goods exported to other EU countries. In terms of imports, the UK is not a significant exporter for the Indian market and overall, it barely scrapes into India's top 20 trade partners.

Yet, according to Kevin McCole, COO, UK India Business Council, this is not the full picture of the economic relationship between the countries. While India-UK trade relationship "is not as strong as it could be," the key to the overall relationship is the bilateral ties which include the level of investment from both countries into each other, and the level of shared innovation and research projects companies and institutions from the countries work on.

EU eager for a trade deal with India

McCole points out, growth in trade and investment between Britain and India will be driven by the tech sector. The EU has been in negotiations with India over a trade deal since 2007. While little progress has have been made since the Brexit vote, the EU is still eager for a deal. It believes that there is plenty of room to expand trade and investment relations and make them more fruitful.

The business sentiment within India is not as anti-Brexit. Shortly after the 2016 Brexit vote, the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry (FICCI) conducted a survey of 45 Indian companies that do business in the UK. While 28 per cent said Brexit would have a negative impact on their business within the UK, 41 per cent said it would be either good for business or would make no difference. Similarly, 48 per cent said their primary reason for being in the UK was the UK market, rather than access to the EU market as a whole. This is a view that certainly can be found within some of India's major export areas. Clothes and textiles are one such area, accounting for a whopping 13 per cent of all Indian exports. The EU is the largest apparel market for India, with the UK taking in the biggest share of that and accounting for more than 10 percent of all Indian exports in apparel.

Yet as appealing as the advancement of UK-India business ties are to Brexit-supporting politicians or to those businesses with a particularly strong India-UK basis, they can hardly be seen in isolation from the central question currently gripping the entire Brexit debate.