RCEP membership to benefit Vietnam garment industry

The RCEP, for which Vietnam is joining negotiations, includes 10 Asean countries and their regional trading partners—China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and India.

Unlike the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the RCEP is marked by geographical proximity cultural similarities among Asian countries. This is likely to help the RCEP negotiation and signing process, according to Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (VITAS) chairman Vu Duc Giang.

The RCEP will benefit Vietnamese textile and garment sector in terms of material supply, cost, market scale, in addition to overcoming trade barriers, Vietnamese media reported quoting Giang.

Giang expects Vietnamese apparel and textile exports to grow at 13-14 per cent in 2017, compared to 9.2 per cent growth last year.

During January-March 2017, Vietnam’s clothing and textile exports stood at $5.6 billion, up 10.2 per cent year-on-year, while its fabric imports increased 5.5 per cent to $2.3 billion, according to Vietnam's General Statistics Office data. (RKS)

Fibre2Fashion News Desk – India