TPP agreement to benefit Vietnamese garments, textiles

August 03, 2013 | 09:40

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The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, once realised, will help Vietnam’s businesses, including those in the garment and textiles industry, boost their exports and remove the current heavy taxation barrier.

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The opinion was shared by participants at a seminar highlighting the TPP agreement and its impacts on Vietnam ’s garment businesses, organised by the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association ( VITA S) and the People’s Committee of the southern province of Dong Nai on August 2.

Businesses said that joining the TPP agreement is essential in the context that the majority of materials used in the sector are imported from foreign countries, while the tax rate in Vietnam ’s major export markets is too high, specifically 17.5 percent in the US and 9.6 percent in Europe .

Through the TPP agreement, Vietnam will have a chance to negotiate with the US and other member countries to open up markets for Vietnam ’s products, thus contributing to boosting exports to these markets as well as attracting more investment in Vietnam .

VITAS said that the sector has been carrying out research, focusing on markets, materials, labour, equipment, management and the financial resources of its businesses, to come up with specific data to continue participating in the negotiations in order to sign the TPP agreement this October in Bali , Indonesia .

According to Nguyen Van Tuan, VITAS Vice General Secretary, the sector now ranks second in export turnover in Vietnam , with 17.1 billion USD in 2012. The figure also made Vietnam the fifth largest exporter of garments and textiles in the world.

The US has become the largest importer of Vietnamese garments and textiles, accounting for about 50 percent of the country’s total exports. It is followed by Europe , Japan and the Republic of Korea.

VNA

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