Bangladesh’s knit clothing exports to Japan are set to rise as Asia’s economic powerhouse has relaxed origination rules, industry people said. “… the government of Japan has relaxed the preferential rules of origin under the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) for apparels and clothing accessories, knitted or crocheted (Chapter 61 of HS Code) effective from 1 April 2015,” the Embassy of Japan in Bangladesh said in a letter to the ministry of foreign affairs. “Under the new rule, the products classified in Chapter 61 of HS Code shall be qualified as originating goods if they were manufactured from yarns of textile fibres,” said the letter. “According to the new rule, knitwear exports from Bangladesh will enjoy GSP (zero tariffs) even if the knitwear product is made of imported fabrics,” Faruque Hassan, former vice president of Bangladesh Garments Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BGMEA), told the FE about the new rule, known as single stage GSP. For further relaxation of GSP rules, local exporters will get more preference in Japanese market. It will also help knitwear items to grab more market shares in that country. In April 2011, Japan relaxed its GSP rules of origin from 2-stage to 1-stage for woven apparel and 3-stage to 2-stage for knitwear, Mr Hassan said, adding that now Bangladesh can export any RMG item (woven or knit) free of duty to Japan, even though the fabric is local or imported. “Japan is one of the most important non-traditional markets for Bangladeshi apparel products,” said Fazlul Hoque, former president of Bangladesh Knitwear Manufacturers and Exporters Association (BKMEA). Some non-cotton knitted items have good demand in the Japanese market which Bangladesh earlier could not export under the GSP scheme as such fabric is not locally produced, he added. To grab more market shares there, he stressed the need for strengthening business-to-business communication. Jahangir Alamin, former president of Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA), said the new relaxation would not have any negative impact on local textile millers. “Rather exporters now will be able to import the fabrics that are not locally produced and add more value,” he said. Bangladesh’s readymade garment (RMG) export to Japan was only $ 74.33 million in the fiscal year 2008-2009, which now has reached $ 572.27 million in the fiscal year 2013-2014, the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB) data showed.
Source: https://www.thefinancialexpress-bd.com/2015/05/03/91136
