China quota relief tightens up control

Concessions only granted for brand names solely produced in China AFTER A lot of loud complaints, particularly from the large clothing retail chains and other importers of textiles and clothing, certain compromises seem to have been reached on the import restrictions and regulations on textiles and clothing originating from China. First was on March 23, when the department of trade and industry (dti) amended the restrictions – “To provide,” it said, “for special strategic circumstances where an importer may be afforded an increase in the quota applicable.” These required the importer’s written commitment to the development of the local clothing and textile industry; or motivational reasons provided by the dti in support of a quota increase – and these amendments were made retrospective to January 1. The second was when the SA Clothing and Textile Workers' Union (Sactwu) circulated a report stating that retailers Pepkor, Woolworths and Foschini had been granted permission to exceed government quotas on Chinese clothing imports. But, while these might seem to be creating loopholes, that’s not the case. According to Brian Brink, executive director of the Textile Federation, there are strict controls on who-doeswhat in imports from China, and those granted quota extensions have had to make their own commitments. Those “strategic circumstances” actually tighten up control on those who appealed for bigger quotas because their brands were not available in SA – only from China. “Some of these,” said Brink, “were genuine cases, but a lot were not.” So, he told FTW, this only applies to accepted international brand names that are now solely produced in China. The case of the retailers, he noted, was subject to a commitment to support local industry, and buy locally (where available) for five years. This was confirmed by Tanya Cohen, the head of stakeholder engagement at Woolworths, who told News 24 that the agreement was reached in partnership with the dti, the International Trade Administration Commission and Sactwu. The DTI was prepared to support quota relief, she added, provided the retailer demonstrated that it would make a contribution to investment and growth in the local industry. Also quoted was Ebrahim Patel, Sactwu’s general secretary, who said the agreements involved union support for applications for extra quotas in return for clear commitments to source clothing and textiles locally for five years – with provision to promote competitiveness in manufacturing.