ASEAN: Regional Trends in Economic Integration, Export ... - USITC

CHAPTER 4
Textiles and Apparel: Cotton Woven
Apparel
Textiles and Apparel Overview 1
The ASEAN region and certain ASEAN countries in particular, are notable suppliers of
textiles and apparel to the world. For the entire textiles and apparel priority sector,
ASEAN countries accounted for 7.2 percent of total world exports in 2008, up from 6.7
percent in 2004. The priority sector includes a much broader group of products than this
chapter’s profile industry, cotton woven apparel. ASEAN exports of all textiles and
apparel totaled $38.5 billion in 2008, compared to $6.3 billion for cotton woven apparel
(table 2.4). The broader priority sector covers other important segments, such as manmade
fiber yarns, fabrics, and apparel, which are important to some ASEAN producers,
particularly Indonesia.
At present, integration in the ASEAN textiles and apparel sector consists mainly of
production of yarn and fabric in one ASEAN country to be shipped to another ASEAN
country, where they are made into apparel. A fully developed and integrated textiles and
apparel sector in the ASEAN region would likely encompass all elements of the supply
chain across several ASEAN members (i.e., the production of fibers, spinning of yarns,
knitting or weaving of fabrics, and cutting and sewing of finished apparel), as well as at
least some regional integration into global supply chains.
One factor influencing the level of integration in ASEAN textile and apparel production
is ASEAN’s Roadmap for Integration of Textiles and Apparel Products Sector
(Roadmap). The Roadmap encompasses the full textile and apparel supply chain,
including raw fibers (e.g., raw cotton, wool, polyester staple fibers), yarns, fabrics, and
finished apparel or textile articles. 2 The Roadmap provides for the elimination of tariffs
on intra-ASEAN trade in all sector products, as well as other measures to encourage
integration. Tariff elimination is almost complete in six ASEAN countries. The
remaining four—Vietnam, Cambodia, Burma, and Laos—have reduced but not
eliminated tariffs on cotton woven apparel and its textile inputs, such as cotton woven
fabrics. 3
The Malaysian government is the coordinator for the textile and apparel Roadmap.
Reportedly, Malaysian officials have worked with the ASEAN Federation of Textile
Industries (AFTEX), a private association made up of textile and apparel industry
members from the 10 ASEAN countries, to increase integrated apparel production among
the ASEAN countries. 4 In addition, AFTEX is working with the U.S. Agency for
International Development (USAID) ASEAN Competitiveness Enhancement (ACE)
1 See app. F for a list of the Harmonized System numbers covered under this priority sector.
2 These products are those listed in the “Roadmap for Integration of Textiles and Apparel Products
Sector.”
3 External tariffs on imports of these products are maintained by the ASEAN countries.
4 Industry representative, e-mail message to USITC staff, April 30, 2010.
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