Salvadoran textile companies report that between January and October exports of textiles and clothing grew by 3%, but the maquila sector went down by almost 9% compared to the same period in 2016.
Patricia Figueroa, executive director of the Chamber of the Textile, Clothing and Free Trade Zone (Camtex), explained to Laprensagrafica.com that"...
The governments agreed to improve market access conditions for tires, sanitary ware and certain textile products, and to update the rules of origin for active liquid preparations or creams for washing skin, and medical devices.
From a statement issued by the Ministry of Foreign Trade of Costa Rica:
San José, November 30, 2017. Authorities at the Ministry of Foreign Trade of Costa Rica and the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism of Colombia held a second meeting of the Free Trade Commission, the body in charge of the administration of the Free Trade Agreement between the two countries since August 2016.The Costa Rican delegation was headed by Vice Minister Jhon Fonseca, while that of Colombia was led by Vice Minister Olga Lozano Ferro.
If the request by the Panamanian Ministry of Commerce and Industries is approved, a new tax of up to 40% could be established on the dividends distributed by Colombian companies.
The South American country has extended the tariff of 35% and 40% on imports of footwear and textiles, respectively, for two more years, further complicating the outlook for companies in the Colon Free Zone.
Up until November 2019, the Colombian government will continue to apply the 35% tariff for footwear and 40% for textiles that enter the country at a value equal to or lower than a predetermined threshold.
Developing e-commerce strategies and raising the final value of the products are some of the goals that the trade union of medium-term textile companies aims to achieve.
The Vision 2030 plan by the Chamber of Textile, Clothing and Free Trade Zones of El Salvador (Camtex), has ten goals that the industry aims to achieve in order to raise competitiveness and the development of the activity in the future.
On September 27, 16 European companies will be meeting with local entrepreneurs to explore business opportunities.
The companies that will be visiting the country will be presenting products from the food industry such as wheat flour, energy drinks, chocolates and pastries.
Crhoy.com reports that "... 'There will also be general cleaning products.
Exports of goods for processing in the first half of 2017 totaled $1,992 million, of which $1,624 million corresponded to the textile industry.
From the report "Foreign trade of goods for transformation up to the second quarter of 2017" by the Central Bank:
Honduran exports of goods for processing in the first half of 2017 totaled US $1,992.0 million, up by US $11.4 million (0.6%)comparedto June of the previous year (down 6.3%). This result is particularly associated with the rise of textiles and manufactured fibers (polyester yarns), destined - mostly - for the United States of America (USA) and Central America.
The Textile Industry Association reported a reduction of almost $17 million in value exported in the first quarter of the year, compared to the same period in the previous year.
Figures from the Chamber of Textile, Apparel and Free Trade Zones (Camtex) indicate that exports from January to April totaled $816 million, down from $833 million exported in the same period in 2016.
Companies from Hong Kong and Taiwan could be interested in setting up a synthetic and manufacturing plant in the country.
The information was provided by representatives of the Apparel and Textile Commission (Vestex) at Agexport, who explained that in the case of the company from Taiwan, its interest is in establishing a manufacturing plant and supplying the US market.The other company, from Taiwan, could be interested in installing "... a manufacturing plant for synthetic products, and the countries that they are investigating are Guatemala and Haiti."
In the first five months, sales abroad totaled $2,354 million, led by garments and textile manufactures and other food industry products.
From a statement issued by the Central Reserve Bank:
El Salvador exported US $2,353.7 million, up by US $82.5 million in the same period in 2016, equivalent to a year-on-year growth of 3.6%, the Central Reserve Bank reported.Among the economic sectors with the greatest growth in sales abroad are: agricultural goods, which increased by 7.9% in May 2017; Commerce, Restaurants and Hotels with an increase of 13.1% and the manufacturing industry, with 3.5%.
The WTO has established a new compliance panel to verify whether or not the South American country has complied with the ruling mandating it to withdraw the tariff on imports of textiles and footwear from Panama.
The decision of the Dispute Settlement Body of the World Trade Organization (WTO) was made at the request of the Panamanian government, which requested a panel be established for a second time, arguing that the South American country continues to impose restrictions on the importation of the products in question"... and that it wanted the trade dispute to be addressed within the framework of the WTO."
In the first four months, sales abroad totaled $1.854 billion, led by garments and textiles, sugar, machinery, electrical and plastic materials.
From a report by the Central Bank:
Salvadoran exports to the rest of the world amounted to US $1.8534 billion as of April 2017, increasing by US $66.9 million (3.7% more) compared to the same month in the previous year, the Central Reserve Bank reported.Among the sectors that increased their sales abroad is the agricultural sector, which grew by 5% and the manufacturing industry (3.7% more), with a significant participation of products such as sugar and clothing, which together contributed US $97.5 million during this period.
Companies in the Asian country are looking to provide Guatemalan textile workers with accessories, threads and synthetic fabrics with finishes.
Textile companies in Guatemala envisage the possibility of generating more value in their supply chain with products that can be provided by Chinese companies that specialize in accessories and other necessary inputs for the textile production chain.
A deferral has been made for a compliance panel which was requested by Panama to verify whether or not Colombia has complied with the WTO ruling in the dispute over Panamanian textile and footwear tariffs.
Laestrella.com.pa reports that "...Panama called on the World Trade Organization (WTO) to establish a panel to determine whether or not Colombia complied with the organization's ruling which put pressure on Bogotá to withdraw a tariff on imports of Panamanian textiles, clothing and footwear."
In 2016, the value of imported yarns and textile raw materials in the region amounted to $328 million, equivalent to 89 thousand tons, 6% more than the volume purchased in 2015.
Figures from the information system on the Central American Market for Yarns and Textiles materials, compiled by the Business Intelligence Unit at CentralAmericaData: [GRAFICA caption="Clic para interactuar con la gráfica"]