Colombian apparel bodies oppose changes in tariff law

31 May '13

2 min read

The representatives of the Colombian textile and apparel industry have opposed the changes in Decree 0074 related to the Custom Tariff, which has been implemented since March 1, 2013.

The new tariff decree, announced by the Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos earlier this year, imposed a uniform tariff of US$4 per kg (revised to US$5 per kg) on overall textiles and apparel imports to the country and reduced the tax on imports from 15 percent to 10 percent.

This has resulted in reduced import of ready-to-wear garments from other countries, and promoted domestic garment industry, resulting in creation of over 3,000 new jobs.

The director of the Colombian Chamber of Clothing and Allied Workers (CCCyA), Carolina Blackburn said the changes in the tariff law, as suggested by the Colombian Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Tourism (MINCOMERCIO), will cause loss of thousands of jobs that have been newly created in the country’s textile and apparel industry.

The Colombian supermarkets have recently started to display locally manufactured garments, and the stores will go back to selling imported garments, once the changes are implemented, the CCCyA director added, as reported by laopinion.com.

In the same vein, president of National Association of Distributors of Textiles and Apparel Inputs (Asotextiles), Andres Arango, said the new tariff decree has helped in developing the textile industry of Colombia within a short span of just three months. The decree is fairly successful and does not require any changes.

Fibre2fashion News Desk - India

More Apparel/Garments News - Colombia...