This year, affected by the global COVID-19 pandemic, not only the textile industry, but almost all export industries have been hit hard. As time goes by, economies around the world have gradually recovered, and foreign trade has finally shown signs of recovery. However, while the epidemic alarm has not been lifted and foreign trade is picking up, the alarm on Sino-US relations is sounding more and more frequently. Foreign trade companies that have only improved slightly are facing serious obstacles.
The United States announced new sanctions, involving China again
On the 3rd local time, the United States announced sanctions on 11 foreign companies and 3 individuals, accusing them of violating U.S. sanctions on Iran and helping Iran export oil, petroleum products and petrochemical products, involving 6 companies Chinese companies (5 companies registered in Hong Kong and 1 company in the Mainland) and 2 Chinese individuals.
According to a statement issued by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the U.S. Department of the Treasury has added 6 companies from Iran, the United Arab Emirates, and China to the list of sanctioned entities on the grounds that these companies are Iranian It provides transportation and sales channels for petrochemical products and provides support to Triliance Petrochemical Co. Ltd (headquartered in Hong Kong), which has been previously sanctioned.
On the same day, the U.S. State Department also investigated five companies from Iran, the United Arab Emirates, and China that were involved in transactions related to Iran’s oil and petrochemical industry. Sanctions were imposed on the company and three individuals.
According to the sanctioned entities and personal information released by the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the list includes 5 companies registered in Hong Kong, China, 1 company headquartered in Shanghai, and 2 Chinese individuals.
According to reports, the Trump administration’s move will freeze all U.S. assets of entities and individuals included in the sanctions blacklist and prohibit Americans from doing business with them.
The United States has repeatedly targeted Chinese companies on the grounds of its connection with Iran. In May this year, the United States announced sanctions on a logistics company based in Shanghai, China, which was allegedly cooperating with Iran’s Mahan Air, which was blacklisted by the United States.
The suppression of textiles has already begun, and we are losing the US market
Relations between China and the United States have deteriorated rapidly in recent years. Although the Sino-US trade war in recent years has slowed down due to the epidemic, in fact, the United States has already begun to suppress Chinese textiles this year.
According to statistics, from January to June 2020, the United States imported a total of US$38.616 billion in textiles and clothing, a year-on-year decrease of 27.82%. Among them, imports from China totaled US$9.603 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 43.17%, imports from Vietnam were US$6.054 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 11.13%, and imports from India were US$3.072 billion, a year-on-year decrease of 27.21%. In the context of the overall downturn in global trade, the decrease in textile and apparel exports from China to the United States is significantly higher than that of Vietnam and India. At the same time, the recent series of events are still not optimistic, and textile people need to be vigilant!
1. “Made in China” saves the risk of returns
A few days ago, the aviation trade circle of friends Received the following notice:
In accordance with U.S. customs and border requirements, from now on, all goods sent to the United States through all channels, outer boxes and products must be labeled with “Made in China” , otherwise local import is not allowed!
Checking the certificate of origin is originally a relatively normal thing, but if it is linked to the recent tensions between China and the United States, then This has to make textile people nervous. If they are not guaranteed, one day when Trump “attacks”, some very conventional textiles will become the target of the other party and face risks such as returns, confiscation or fines.
2. Ban on Xinjiang cotton
Recently, the US government requires Americans and non-Americans to Transactions with entities that directly or indirectly own 50% or more of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps will be gradually closed before September 30, 2020; if relevant transactions cannot be closed before September 30, you need to seek guidance from the U.S. Department of the Treasury. In order to reduce trouble and avoid risks, some U.S. customers have explicitly proposed banning Xinjiang cotton in their orders.
Xinjiang is my country’s main cotton-producing region. In 2019, Xinjiang’s cotton output reached 5.002 million tons. , accounting for 85% of my country’s overall cotton production. It can be said that most of China’s cotton spinning products are made from Xinjiang cotton.
As the most basic and common natural textile fiber, cotton has an irreplaceable position in textile production. It is foreseeable that after the United States bans Xinjiang cotton, textile foreign trade companies will inevitably Understand greater pressure.
The dispute is getting more intense, foreign trade textile workers: be wary of another attack from the United States
The current Sino-US relations are confusing and unpredictable, which has brought great uncertainty to China’s textile exports. But on the other hand, at least at this stage, China’s textiles are still irreplaceable.
Recently, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative issued an announcement stating that some products including masks For goods, the tariff exemption period will be extended for 4 months until the end of 2020. In fact, it is easy to understand, because the epidemic in the United States is getting worse, and products such as masks belong to a seller’s market, so tariffs will not be used to restrict imports.
But on the other hand, due to China’s “world factory” attributes, it is difficult for the Southeast Asian textile industry, which is catching up, to catch up with China in terms of industrial chain, technology, etc., but in the short term, China’s leading position It will not waver. According to statistics from the General Administration of Customs of Vietnam, in the first seven months of 2020, Vietnam’s total imports of textile, clothing and leather footwear raw and auxiliary materials were US$12.02 billion, with imports from China accounting for 49%. China is Vietnam’s textile, clothing and leather footwear. Although the largest import market for raw and auxiliary materials in the industry fell by 12% year-on-year, it still accounted for 49% of the total imports of this type of products, approximately US$5.88 billion. However, at the same time, imports of raw and auxiliary materials for textiles, clothing and leather footwear fell by 16% year-on-year, which was the largest decline. The largest imported product. Therefore, in the short term, Vietnam still has to rely on China’s textile industry chain, but the Vietnamese have obviously seen the problem.
Due to the fermentation of the epidemic and the approaching general election , the recent foreign trade, especially the U.S. market, has been constantly troubled, and Trump is desperately trying to play the so-called “China card” in order to get rid of the “pot” of his ineffective fight against the epidemic. But as the foreign trade market gradually picks up, the business that should be done is still It has to be done. Textile people can only consider various risks as much as possible in the process of doing business and carefully avoid them.
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