Taiwan's leading textile brands are offering the latest trends in sustainable textile and performance fabrics. Taiwan's competitive advantage in functional, environmental and smart fabrics includes strong development and integration abilities for functional artificial fibers, and an excellent ability to provide a wide variety of differentiated and customized fabrics in small quantities. It also includes low pollution and energy consumption in the production process, innovative technologies in its semiconductor and biomedical industries, electronic components, and cross-industry integration.

The output value (including overseas production) of Taiwan’s functional fabrics accounts for roughly 50 per cent of the global output value of functional fabrics, making Taiwan the world’s largest functional fabric production base. Singtex provides eco-friendly functional textiles and is a sustainable supplier of eco-friendly textiles to international clothing brands. Evertex Fabrinology is dedicated to producing highly technical knit fabrics with heavy emphasis on durability, performance and comfort for the outdoor enthusiasts during extreme excursions.

Tex-Ray has integrated yarn dyeing, fabric and garment production. TexRay has developed innovative products to satisfy various climates, functions, and environmental protections. Toung Loong Textile has contributed to the global textile industry by developing and producing functional synthetic yarn dye, ATY, DTY and high-end sewing thread. By collaborating with international premium raw material and machine manufacturers and adopting advanced technologies, Toung Loong produces various functional yarns.

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has directed the Pakistani manufacturers to penetrate aggressively in the global synthetics products market which has long surpassed the cotton market. Though starting late, Pakistan’s exporters can still sail through if allowed to access essential raw materials at competitive prices.

According to the Central Bank, the local industry would benefit and tariff-based policy measures to enhance the use of man-made fibers in domestic textile industry will become effective, only if the influx of smuggled goods is contained.

Pakistan’s textile industry is advancing into synthetics at a snail’s pace. The fiber mix still stands at 80:20 in its garment exports with only 25 percent of Pakistan’s spinning machines currently using MMF to produce blended yarn. Moreover, the country’s share in MMF apparel market is almost negligible.

This implies that with adequate availability of raw materials in the country, Pakistan too could have excelled in global synthetic textiles market. However, domestic policies and market conditions have hindered the country’s foray into this emerging market.

The North Carolina textile sector has made a slow climb back from near extinction to a growing, vibrant center of the US textile industry. The state’s diverse textile workforce encompasses more than 42,000 skilled professionals, including some 28,000 workers that comprise the largest textile mill industry in the US. That represents more than ten per cent of the 2,22,000 working in the textile apparel and home goods sector across the country in May.

North Carolina also has a strong business environment. At three per cent, North Carolina has the lowest corporate income tax rate in the US, while its average industrial electricity rates run more than eight per cent less than the US average. Large apparel and textile companies, such as Gildan Activewear and Unifi and VF, have already established their headquarters in North Carolina.

RK Industries, a large apparel manufacturer based in India, opened its first US factory in the state last year. The company has had long-term relationships with US brands and saw a chance to better serve them by opening a facility in the US amid the increased demand for faster order turnarounds taking shape in recent years. The facility has been doing well, with capacity of 700 to 800 woven shirts a week and plans to grow to 1200 pieces a week.

Nepal has sought withdrawal of Bangladesh’s restriction on yarn imports through the Banglabandha land port in Bangladesh saying that the ban was causing financial losses to Nepalese manufacturers. Nepal also wants to yarn exports through the port in Tetulia of Panchagarh.

Nepal has repeatedly been seeking permission for export of yarn, particularly acrylic yarn, to Bangladesh. Nepal exports only acrylic yarn. Bangladesh imposed the restriction on yarn import through land ports back in 2002 to safeguard local cotton yarn industry. Bilateral trade between Nepal and Bangladesh takes place through Banglabandha and Fulbari (Shiliguri of West Bengal) land ports.

Bangladesh textile mills have expressed concern that there is a possibility of yarn coming from a third country if Bangladesh permits import of the product through Banglabandha from Nepal.

Bangladesh will decide depending on the physical infrastructure, manpower and other facilities including laboratory at the port, and the interests of the country. Other relevant factors are the number of spinning mills and the quantity of yarn exports of Nepal and the possibility of export of yarn from a third country that misuses the permission before taking any decision on the issue.

Japan and the European Union have signed a free trade agreement. This will create the world’s largest open economic area. The deal removes EU’s 10 per cent tariff on Japanese cars and three per cent on most car parts. It would also scrap Japanese duties of some 30 per cent or more on EU cheese and 15 per cent on wines, and secure access to large public tenders in Japan.

Europe’s food sector is one of the biggest winners from the deal, which should allow it to capitalize on Japanese demand for high-quality cheese, chocolates, meats and pasta. Japanese car and car parts makers are also expected to increase sales to Europe, where they have lagged behind European rivals.

However, Japan’s dairy industry is expected to lose market share to European products once tariffs of up to 40 per cent on some cheese imports start coming down. Japan and the EU account for about a third of global GDP and their trade relationship has room to grow. The agreement is expected to boost the EU economy by 0.8 per cent and Japan’s by 0.3 per cent over the long term.

The trade pact comes amid fears that a trade war between the United States and China will diminish the role of free trade in the global economic order.

India International Garment Fair (IIGF) is on at Noida from July 16 to 18. The fair is primarily covering the autumn/winter and spring/summer of the European Union, US and other western markets. It has grown in scale and scope and emerged as one of the largest and most popular platforms in Asia where overseas garment buyers can source and forge business relationships with India’s finest in the apparel and fashion accessories domain.

IIGF expects footfalls from over 1,054 international buyers, stores and retail chains. Around 345 exporters from Delhi, Gujarat, Haryana, Maharashtra, Punjab, Rajasthan, Tamil Nadu, Uttar Pradesh etc are participating showcasing women’s wear, accessories, kids’ wear and men’s wear. Buyers are from Brazil, Spain, Japan, UK, Hong Kong, USA, Sri Lanka, Australia etc.

This is a B-2-B fair that started in 1988 is being organized in association with International Garment Fair Association and four major garment exporters' associations, that is, Apparel Exporters and Manufacturers Association, Garment Exporters Association, Clothing Manufacturers Association of India and Garment Exporters of Rajasthan. With GST stabilising and the industry hopeful of policy support for improving the sector’s cost competitiveness, a turnaround in export trajectory is expected.

India has increased import duties on textile and apparel items. The aim is to protect domestic manufacturers from rising imports. The import duty which was earlier 10 per cent will be 20 per cent for these items. There has been an increase in the import duty on 24 knitted apparel categories, 24 woven apparel, ten categories of carpet, six nonwovens, three categories of laminated fabric, two knitted fabric, two categories of woven fabric, two categories of made-ups and three other categories.

The measures are a major relief for garment and carpet manufacturers who were under immense pressure post GST. From 2016-17 to 2017-18, India’s imports of textile and apparel products have grown at 16 per cent. The commodities on which import duty has been increased account for 26 per cent of total imports by India.

The apparel commodities on which import duty has been increased account for 82 per cent of total apparel imports. This is expected to prevent apparel imports from China, which is the largest supplier of apparel to India. However, the big issue of imports from Bangladesh remains. These imports are exempt from basic customs duty and hence, are a gateway for Chinese fabrics entering India duty free. This is because no rules of origin are in place for duty-free imports from Bangladesh.

China and the European Union (EU) have signed a MoU on circular economy. This implies reducing waste to a minimum and re-using, repairing, and recycling existing materials and products.

The agreement could see the world’s two largest economies align key circular economy mechanisms and pave the way for the development of product standards and policies, which could create the conditions for a system shift on a global scale towards a low carbon, regenerative economy.

Co-operation by the two economic powerhouses in this field will cover strategies, legislation, policies and research in areas of mutual interest. It will address management systems and policy tools such as eco-design, eco-labeling, extended producer responsibility and green supply chains as well as financing of the circular economy. Both sides will exchange best practice in key fields such as industrial parks, chemicals, plastics and waste.

A transition to a circular economy in China’s cities could have numerous local benefits, including making goods and services more affordable for citizens, as well as reducing the impacts normally associated with middle class lifestyles, such as traffic congestion and air pollution. Europe can add to its GDP by 2030 by moving to a circular economy, while also halving its Co2 emissions.

China has lodged an additional complaint to the World Trade Organisation (WTO) regarding the United States' proposed tariffs on $200 billion (S$272 billion) worth of Chinese imports. These tariff hikes targeting Chinese goods were based on Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, its domestic trade law. The US unilaterally launched a Section 301 investigation against China last year despite opposition from China and the international community.

It released an investigation report in March, and imposed tariffs on US$34 billion worth of Chinese goods on July 6 in disregard of 91 per cent opposition in the comments it received.

Meanwhile, the Trump administration also retaliated against the unjustified tariffs imposed by China in response to US steel and aluminum duties. The US Trade Representative launched formal challenges at the WTO against China, the European Union, Canada, Mexico and Turkey for retaliating against steel and aluminum tariffs.

Japan has become the second country to complete domestic procedures for the Trans-Pacific Partnership-11 agreement, officially known as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. The move comes amid significant global headwinds over trade. Tokyo recently stepped up its efforts to prevent the United States from moving ahead with tariffs on automotive imports.

Japan announced it had completed the domestic procedures for the TPP-11 on the day it formally notified New Zealand, which is designated as the depositary for such declarations. The agreement specifies that the TPP-11 will enter into force 60 days after at least six signatories have given written notice of the completion of any relevant domestic legal procedures.