Customs Dept to keep eagle's eye on illegal textile shipments
20 Jun '05
1 min read
Following Europe and the US's imposition of quotas on the Mainland's textile exports in May, the quantity of illegal textile transshipments to Hong Kong is expected to rise and Customs will closely monitor the situation, Commissioner of Customs & Excise Timothy Tong says.
Mr Tong said in the first five months of this year, local garment exports have dropped about one third over the same period last year, reflecting the effect of abolition of the quota system.
But he forecast the trend will revert as a result of the recent move by Europe and America, and circumvention activities will resurge.
Mr Tong said in an operation against illegal textile transshipments during the past four weeks, Customs officers have seized 240,000 garments with a total value of about $5 million and detained 13 goods vehicles.
During a recent inspection of local garment factories, about 100 new firms brought the total to 1,500, indicating a better business environment in the latter half of the year, he said.
Mr Tong stressed Customs will keep a close watch on the situation and spare no efforts in combating circumvention activities.
-Ltd..jpg?tr=w-120,h-60,c-at_max,cm-pad_resize,bg-ffffff "Thermore (Far East) Ltd.")
.jpg?tr=w-120,h-60,c-at_max,cm-pad_resize,bg-ffffff "Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation Limited (TSllC Ltd)")
.jpg?tr=w-120,h-60,c-at_max,cm-pad_resize,bg-ffffff "Taiwan Textile Federation (TTF)")
