EU Clothing Trade Adds New Barriers to Clothing Exporters to Be Cautious

“In order to make consumers not mistakenly believe that the products are produced in the European Union because of clothing labels, consumers in fact bought products originating in third countries.” Recently, European Union congressmen took the lead and drafted a proposal in Europe. The sale of clothing must be mandatory labeling the country of origin of the motion. The motion was voted by the European Parliament and gradually evolved from an initial technical proposal into a political proposal with “hegemonism”. It is intended to be used as a new regulation in foreign trade. . As a result, the new label regulation has become a focus topic in the current apparel industry, and it is also a target for all apparel companies and textile media.

As we all know, the EU is an important area for China's textile and apparel exports. Since January 1, 2005, the “quota system” for the textile and apparel trade that has been implemented internationally for more than 40 years has been completely eliminated. Since then, the global textile and apparel trade has entered the "post-quota era."

The cancellation of the "quota system" theoretically indicates that the global textile and apparel trade has achieved integration. China's textile and clothing exports have also completely shaken off the long-standing problems of the quota system and won a broader space for international market trade. However, in fact, this is not the case. To cope with the severe challenge of the “post-quota era” for textiles and garments, the EU has also stepped up the formulation and implementation of a series of trade protection measures in recent years, such as anti-dumping, technical barriers, green barriers, and special safeguard measures. Wait. With the passage of time and the increasing scope of international trade, these new types of non-tariff trade protection measures are also numerous and increasing. Therefore, with the advent of the "post-quota era," and facing fierce competition in the international market, China's textile and apparel exports have more directly confronted the EU's trade protection measures.

Addition of barriers to clothing trade: EU intends to enforce the labeling system of the country of origin

According to the European Parliament website, May 18, 2010, clothing sold in the European Union must be labelled as a mandatory measure in the country of origin so that consumers will not mistakenly believe that the product was produced in the European Union due to the clothing label. Consumers buy products originating in third countries.

Recently, European Union members drafted a proposal that garments sold in Europe must be marked with the label of the country of origin. The bill was passed by the European Parliament with 528 votes, 18 votes against and 108 abstentions. As a result, the proposal of “proposed labelling of the label of the country of origin” with its technical nature gradually evolved into a politically colored bill and will be introduced as a new European Union trade regulation, and will be introduced in future foreign trade. Will be enforced.

Compared with countries such as the United States, Canada, and Japan that have strict regulations on the country of origin ("Madein"), the current EU "Madein" label is voluntary, but in the course of specific operations The use of this label is mainly based on the current national laws of each country. It is understood that at present, there are 48 types of textile fibers (including 18 kinds of natural fibers and 30 types of man-made fibers) in the EU's single textile and clothing sales market, and the EU's current textile label regulations apply only to the coordination of the names of these 48 types of textile products. Labeling of textile and textile fibers does not impose mandatory regulations on the label of the country of origin.

“In order to prevent consumers from mistakenly thinking that the product was produced in the European Union because of the clothing label, consumers in fact bought a product originating in a third country.” As a reason, to further help consumers understand shopping, EU members drafted. A proposal that clothing sold in Europe be mandatory labeling the country of origin. In response to this motion, the European Parliament has also put forward more specific requirements for its committee. Its specific content is: "Request the Committee to submit a report within two years and a legislation to promote the implementation of new labeling requirements within the EU. Proposal (if necessary), the report should include inspection of nursing labels (now voluntary), clothing and footwear dimensions, health and safety warnings (flammability, possible allergies) and coordination requirements for social labels." This shows that the EU Parliament attaches great importance to the labeling of the country of origin labeling and enforcement determination.

We know that since the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine (AQSIQ) ceased to carry out label inspections on textiles and clothing exports in March 2009, the labels for textiles and clothing exports were no longer included in the inspection and quarantine departments. Recently, the European Union put the implementation plan of labeling “Country of Origin” on the agenda and requested it to be enforced in future trade contacts. This action not only adds new work content and requirements to the production of clothing export enterprises in China; At the same time, more stringent work requirements will also be put on the inspection work of China's inspection and quarantine departments.

Reporter's investigation found that: Nearly 70% of Yuzhou enterprises do not know the new regulations for apparel trade labels.

As we all know, Henan is a major textile province and is also the most important textile and apparel production and processing base in the country. In particular, in recent years, Henan Province has further strengthened its exchange and cooperation with the international textile market, and textile and apparel import and export companies have also made considerable progress, both in scale and in number. In view of the new regulations that the EU intends to impose on the labeling system for country of origin of garments, the reporter recently visited a number of textile and apparel import and export companies in Henan Province. After investigation, it was found that nearly 70% of the relevant persons in charge of these enterprises were involved in the EU. This new label rule is not known.

“Actually, any policy or system will not be fixed after it is established, and foreign trade policy is like this. However, with my experience in foreign trade over the years, no one area has been as fickle as the EU’s trade policy. Sometimes people really feel that they are 'preventive.'” Talking about the EU’s intention to enforce the labeling system of the country of origin, Mr. Li Xing, a person in charge of the clothing import and export trading company in Henan Province, told reporters that he was right. The new labeling rules are not known, because the first is that the peacetime work is too busy. In addition, trade policies in the EU have been changing, and some systems have not yet had time to implement or have undergone new changes in the implementation process. Therefore, given the time, unless there is a formal document issued by the relevant department at the higher level, he usually pays little attention to this information.

"In May of this year, a group of children's clothes that we exported to the European Union were recalled because of the 'unqualified' parts and violated their relevant regulations. Actually, they were not substandard, but they did not pay close attention to the rapidly changing standard rules of the EU, resulting in many of us The export enterprises have planted some small parts on children's clothes.” Mr. Li said that the recall of children’s clothing brought huge economic losses to the company. He accepted the previous experience and lessons. In the future, Mr. Li expressed that he will pay close attention to the foreign trade system. Changes, in particular the recent progress in the EU's proposal to impose new regulations on the country of origin, have made preparations for various aspects.

"We have to pay attention to many details in the textile and apparel exports. With strict quality control, we have repeatedly affected the smooth export of garments due to details. This is more for us than worthwhile." Henan Hongri Garment Trade Co., Ltd. The person in charge of Liu Xing and Mr. Li hold the same view. “The new label regulations that the EU intends to impose, although it only makes provision for the details of clothing labels, should give us enough attention because it directly affects Whether our garments can be exported successfully, said Mr. Liu.

Quarantine Department reminds: Trade barriers should be reinforced by clothing companies

"There is no doubt that the labeling system for the country of origin of clothing trade to be enforced is a new trade barrier added by the European Union. In response to this mandatory system, our domestic apparel companies should enhance labeling awareness." The EU's new label-enforced labelling scheme has adversely affected China's textile and apparel exports and ensured the smooth export of China's textile and apparel products. The relevant person in charge of the Henan Entry-Exit Inspection and Quarantine Bureau interviewed reporters during a telephone interview and said that with the international textile and clothing market, With the further intensification of competition, trade barriers have emerged endlessly and full of tricks. China's garment enterprises must enhance their awareness of risk. In response to the EU's new regulations on clothing labels, the responsible person made the following suggestions:

First of all, we should pay enough attention to thinking. We will carefully study the specific content of the new labeling rules of the country of origin enforced by the EU, and analyze the actual impact that this new regulation may have on garment exports, taking into account the specific circumstances of the industry and the company. At the same time, domestic garment exporters must increase their awareness of labels and try to avoid being rejected due to labeling issues.

Secondly, we must pay close attention to the progress of the labeling system of the EU country of origin, keep abreast of the changes in the relevant EU rules, clearly understand and take the initiative to actively carry out various preparations for textile and garment export labels to ensure the smooth export of our clothing to the EU.

Thirdly, to strengthen the coordination and cooperation between the government, garment industry associations, entry-exit inspection and quarantine departments, and enterprises, in particular to give full play to the guiding role of industry associations, and promptly guide textile and garment enterprises to adjust the production of clothing labels in accordance with relevant requirements.

Finally, we further improve our self-inspection and self-control capabilities, strictly control quality, and conduct strict label inspections and audits against relevant standards before clothing exports, so as to avoid unsatisfactory clothing labeling and rejection, and thus ensure that our garments are successfully exported to the European Union. To ensure that our economic interests are not lost.