Representatives from the Garment Manufacturers Association of Cambodia (GMAC) recently urged the government to push for the fabric-forward rule during negotiations for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). During a meeting with government officials, they were particularly eager about how the agreement will handle the rules of origin.
The RCEP is a regional economic agreement being negotiated between the 10 ASEAN nations and their six free trade agreement partners — Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand and South Korea.
ASEAN needs a unanimous position on the rules of origin, the most contentious part in any free trade agreement, before discussing with the other countries, according to GMAC secretary general Kaing Monika.
“Based on the principle of mutual understanding we have at the ASEAN Federation of Textile Industries, ASEAN would agree on the fabric-forward rule, which is a compromise between yarn-forward, which is too strict, and single-transformation, which it too laid back,” a leading Cambodian newspaper quoted Monika as saying.
Fabric-forward rule means that the fabric for used manufacturing apparel or other textile products must originate in an ASEAN country.As Cambodia imports most of its textiles from prospective RCEP members, so the country would benefit from the adoption of the fabric-forward rule, he added. (DS)
Fibre2Fashion News Desk – India