A port strike in Pakistan threatens to cause cancellation of vital export orders. Export orders running into huge amounts are at stake. Carriers and other freight-loaded ships anchored at the terminal have not been offloaded owing to the strike.

The industry has not been able to meet international commitments and failure to perform will lead to disputes, loss of valued customers, loss of market share as well as damaging Pakistan's reputation as a reliable supplier.

The strike comes at a moment when Pakistan’s industrial production and exports are registering a positive growth. Blockage of export goods would hurt the growth pace. Given the trade deficit and the national debt, the economy can hardly bear such delays in trade activities.

If the situation continues, the industry fears production activities will reduce further. The port strike is not only hurting shipments of export consignments but importers too. They are forced to pay demurrages for not clearing their consignments from the ports. Also industrial units are not receiving raw materials.

If the issue is not resolved, exporters fear facing huge financial losses and also losing their hard earned export contracts. Cancellation of vital export orders would in huge losses not only to exporters but also to the national exchequer.

Options System Limited (OSL) specialises in computer systems for the apparel, footwear and soft goods industries. Its Styleman and Styleprm systems are used by over 100 companies in 35 countries. OSL’s software improves speed in PLM. Styleman PLM software reduces the possibility of errors and drives the development schedule according to the desired timetable. Errors are reduced by both the factory and company looking at the same data, by the accuracy of the tech pack and by quality of feedback from sample fit sessions.

The company’s future plan is to tap into voice interface (Siri, Alexa, Google, etc.), which is gaining traction on home devices but has yet to make it into the office. Robot assembly is starting to make inroads into manufacturing, raising the possibility of micro-factories making to order.

One can visit a shop, browse some garments physically or virtually, adjust the coloring or pattern to suit tastes, and wait a few minutes while the garment is manufactured on the spot. This is more likely to happen in footwear first, since 3D fabric printing/knitting still has a way to go.

In the next 10 years, 3D printing may develop to a stage that it will disrupt e-commerce, allowing individual garment or footwear personalisation and printing at home.

Of the 145 textile units at Pandesara in Surat, none has adequate provisions for fire safety. No mill has been adequately equipped with fire safety provisions. Notices will be issued to all of them and asking them to comply with fire safety norms. There are about 350 textile mills located in the city and nearby areas of Palsana and Kadodara. These textile mills employ about three lakh workers and their monthly turnover is pegged at about Rs 1,800 crores. The lives of lakhs of workers are at risk due to weak structures and no fire safety provisions.

Major industries spend around eight per cent on corporate social responsibility and also on lavish layout for their own units. However, other textile mills are run under tin-sheds and have concrete walls and temporary supports. These textile mills dump their finished products and raw materials in semi-open shades, which is a recipe for fire disaster.

The recent instruction of the Gujarat Pollution Control Board about chimneys to mills has helped bring down air pollution marginally. In the last few months, notices have been issued to at least 36 textile mills for causing air pollution. They comply with law for a few days and then again turn to their old practices.

Luxury brands are expanding their range in menswear with big fashion houses including French conglomerates LVMH and Kering hiring eye-catching designers and investing in male attire. For example, Louis Vuitton recently launched a collection by its new DJ-turned-designer Virgil Abloh.

There's strong demand for menswear in all its shapes and forms, and which comes in part from a younger clientele. Louis Vuitton recently generated 5 to 7 per cent of its revenue from menswear. Market research firm forecasts men's lines will outperform women's between 2017 and 2022, with sales expanding by a compound annual growth rate of 2 percent. The US department store is also launching newer menswear-focused labels like France's Ami, or Off-White, the streetwear brand founded by Vuitton's Abloh. This is due to men placing a greater emphasis on their appearance, fuelled by the rise of social media, and dress codes for men softening globally.

The Federation of Indian Art Silk Weaving Industry (FIASWI) has sought various duty cuts on man-made filament yarn, fibre and fabric from the government. It seeks imposition of additional customs duty on silk fabrics imported from Vietnam to provide a level-playing field to Indian manufacturers.

It has also sought reduction of customs duty on all man-made fibre and filament yarn which are not manufactured in India. Recently, the FIASWI submitted a memorandum to textile minister Smriti Irani in New Delhi through Surat MP Darshana Jardosh demanding imposition of 10 per cent duty on fabrics imported from Vietnam.

The FIASWI has also raised the issue of input tax credit (ITC) refund with the minister stating that non-refund of accumulated ITC is resulting in losses to the industry and drastic reduction in capital investment for machine modernization. FIASWI says, there is GST of 5 per cent on fabrics manufactured in India, while imported silk fabrics have zero duty. As compared to the fabrics made in India the imported silk fabrics are cheaper by Rs 45 per metre.

Egypt’s readymade garment exports increased 12 per cent in the first five months of the current year compared to the same period in 2017. Exports to the US also went up by 12 per cent. Garment exports to Europe rose by 16 per cent. But as for garment exports to Arab countries, they dropped by 16 per cent.

Egypt’s garment exports are mainly to the US, Turkey, Spain, Britain, North Ireland, Germany, Italy, France, Saudi Arabia, Belgium and the Netherlands. Egypt wants to have stronger trade relations with Africa. Steps include taking part in international exhibitions in the African continent and setting up an Egyptian-African free trade zone.

Egypt’s main exports to Africa are engineering industries, pharmaceuticals, chemical garments, food industries, and construction materials. Egypt wants to increase exports to the African continent by 35 per cent in 2017. The main countries Egypt is interested in are Kenya, Zambia and Ivory Coast. However, working to make Egypt a leading international trade center in the Middle East requires work to increase the capacities of Egyptian ports in order to attract more container ships as well as working on the development of logistics capabilities and infrastructure to support this trend.

Beijing has begun to downplay Made in China 2025, the state-backed industrial policy as it has provoked alarm in the West and is core to Washington's complaints about the country's technological ambitions. The policy, unveiled by China's State Council in 2015, involves China catching up with rivals in sectors including robotics, aerospace, clean-energy cars and advanced basic materials. The strategy helps China to move up the value chain and achieve Xi's vision of urning the country into a global superpower by 2050.

But the policy has provoked the Trump team, including US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and trade and manufacturing adviser Peter Navarro, author of the book “Death by China.” Trump's initial list of tariffs on $50 billion in Chinese goods, which will begin taking effect on July 6, specifically targets items related to Made in China 2025. Under the plan, Beijing wants Chinese suppliers to capture 70 percent of market share by 2025 for “basic core components and important basic materials” in strategic industries.

The cotton industry in Australia is on track to produce about 4.6 million bales or over a million tons of fiber. Cotton prices are particularly attractive but plantings are likely to be significantly down due to water shortage. Next season there could be a crop of around 2.2 million bales, 50 per cent down on last year.

A lot of winter crop hasn’t gone in. The northern areas are hitting the last available date for planting cereals. So, some of that country may be put to summer crops, especially if there is rain in August. So sorghum and dry land cotton are on a lot of people’s minds.

Cotton production in the Murrumbidgee and Murray valleys of southern New South Wales has hit a record 8,00,000 bales, with 53 new growers joining the region’s existing cohort of 110 to grow a record area of 72,000 hectares. The average yield for this all-irrigated area was around 11 bales per hectare.

There are plenty of new growers sending cotton to the gins this year. The shift has been due largely to the high cost of irrigation water.When the price of water goes up, the margin is worse on rice, and that makes cotton look better, especially when the price of cotton is high.

Japanese retail giant Aeon will shift sourcing from China to Vietnam. Reason: rising production costs in China. Aeon’s apparel is nearly 70 per cent from Vietnam and will increase the value of goods procured from Vietnam over the past years to a whopping $200 million.

Aeon Retail, incorporated in 1986, owns and operates general merchandise stores and supermarkets in Japan. Aeon is switching from existing acousto-magnetic electronic article surveillance systems for Checkpoint Systems’ radio frequency identification RF EAS systems to improve inventory management and the shopping experience. Aeon Retail will also pioneer Checkpoint’s RFID robot prototype to automate the in-store inventory cycle-counting process so it can improve inventory visibility and enhance shopper experience.

Shopping at Aeon means beautifully displayed products, immaculate shopping areas and reasonable prices. The retail chain recently held a conclave of 120 companies in Vietnam as a part of the supplier chain meeting. It called for joint development of apparels and other products that are sourced from Vietnam. In turn Vietnam’s suppliers hope Aeon would help in boosting the country’s exports by introducing many more Vietnamese products.

"After China, European Commission is also prepping for retaliatory tariff on US products. The EU placed additional duties on €2.8 billion ($3.2 billion) worth of US goods, adding that it will subject €3.6 billion ($4.2 billion) of American products to high tariffs ‘at a later stage’ — either ‘in three years' time or after a positive finding in a WTO dispute settlement.’ As per European Commission's estimates, EU steel and aluminum exports affected by the US measures were worth €6.4 billion ($7.45 billion). In March 2018 the Trump administration signaled the imposition of 25- and 10-per cent tariffs on steel and aluminum, respectively. The tax hike was imposed to Europe on June 1."

After China, European Commission is also prepping for retaliatory tariff on US products. The EU placed additional duties on €2.8 billion ($3.2 billion) worth of US goods, adding that it will subject €3.6 billion ($4.2 billion) of American products to high tariffs ‘at a later stage’ — either ‘in three years' time or after a positive finding in a WTO dispute settlement.’ As per European Commission's estimates, EU steel and aluminum exports affected by the US measures were worth €6.4 billion ($7.45 billion). In March 2018 the Trump administration signaled the imposition of 25- and 10-per cent tariffs on steel and aluminum, respectively. The tax hike was imposed to Europe on June 1.

Commissioner for Trade Cecilia Malmström reiterated the rules of international trade, which EU has developed over the years hand in hand with its American partners, cannot be violated without a reaction from their side. EU’s response is measured, proportionate and fully in line with WTO rules. If the US removes its tariffs, its measures will also be removed.

EU-US trade ties

As per Eurostat, the US was the largest partner for EU exports in 2017 and the second largest for the bloc's imports. At the same time, Germany emerged as the largest exporter to the US among EU member states. Between 2008 and 2017, the EU had a trade surplus with the US peaking at €122 billion ($142 billion) in 2015 and falling to €120 billion ($139.7 billion) in 2017. When it comes to EU exports to the US, which totaled €376 billion ($435 billion) in 2017, €6.4 billion ($7.45 billion) in tariff-hit goods pale in significance. Vice versa, €2.8 billion ($3.2 billion) worth of US goods subjected to EU duties stand nowhere near total US exports to the bloc, which amounted to €256 billion ($297.8 billion).

The EU’s major exports to the US comprise of machinery, packaged medicine, vehicles and medical and pharmaceutical equipment not targeted by the Trump administration's tariff spree. Germany, which accounted for 30 per cent of all EU exports to the US in 2017, views North America as its largest single export market for cars.

In line with other countries, Mexico also applied additional tariffs on $3 billion worth of US goods in early June, while India notified Washington on June 22 that it will impose higher tariffs on a number of products imported from the US, including agricultural products and industrial inputs, from August 4. Looking at the prevailing scenario, Gerry Rice, director of communications, IMF, stated that everybody loses in a protracted trade war, IMF encourages countries to work constructively together to reduce trade barriers and to resolve trade disagreements without resort to exceptional measures.