Vietnamese garment sector restructure in hope of TPP opportunities

The Vietnamese garment sector has implemented many initiatives to restructure itself to conform with the integration process, in anticipation of opportunities from the TPP a high quality new-generation agreement signed. According to Minister of Industry and Trade Vu Huy Hoang, the TPP will boost exports, attract more foreign investments and also increase the position of Vietnam in the region and the world.

Numerous production chains have been put into operation to meet the agreement’s requirements on rules of origin, which help increase the localization rate and the prices of several garment companies’ shares.

General Director of the Vietnam National Textile and Garment Group (Vinatex) Le Tien Truong said that Vietnam has to import a large amount of materials.

Therefore, the group has prepared for a long time and coordinated with foreign companies in building material production regions.

As an outstanding unit of the garment and textile sector, the Phong Phu Corporation has coordinated closely with Vinatex’s subsidiaries and other companies to form a large supply chain, while reforming management capacity and technologies in order to stay firmly in front of big foreign rivals.

However, there still remain businesses which have not made any moves to restructure, as they lack knowledge about TPP. Many of them do not know how to benefit from the zero percent tariff rate applied when Vietnamese products are proved to have a domestic materials content of 60 percent.

Head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade’s Light Industry Department Phan Chi Dung pointed to the fact that if the sector wants to invest in material sources, it has to find thousand-hectare material regions.

However, this is a challenge because many localities do not provide large fields to develop materials, as they are afraid of environmental pollution risks caused by garment production.

In addition, once the agreement comes into effect, companies will face fiercer competitiveness on goods, services and investment, numerous trade protection measures, and tighter requirements on product quality.

Deputy chief of the Inter-sectoral Steering Committee on International Economic Integration, Trinh Minh Anh, suggested businesses make efforts to meet global standards to increase competitiveness. They were also urged to have a thorough understanding of integration to analyse the process’s influence on their products, and have appropriate plans of action.

Minister Hoang asked Government, State management agencies, and relevant ministries and sectors to pay attention to building standards that ensure the quality of products sold in Vietnam and prevent substandard goods from entering into the country, thus facilitating domestic firms’ development.

He added that it is necessary to promote communication work to raise enterprises’ awareness of the TPP contents, helping them identify advantages as well as challenges, in order to take responsive measures and get the best out of opportunities arising from the deal.