The European Union (EU) is considering to expand the scope of regional cumulation and also introduce cross-regional cumulation. This will apply to members within a regional trading Block (RTA), such as South Asian Association for Regional Co-operation (Saarc) and introduce cross-regional cumulation, which applies to the two RTAs - Saarc and the Association of south-east Asian Nations (Asean).
The Ministry of Commerce (MoC), in view of the implication of these rules for Pakistan's textile and clothing sector, solicited comments from all the textile bodies in the country so that a coherent and effective strategy could be adopted in the matter.
The MoC letter, sent on July 5, said the idea of the Saarc regional cumulation, if implemented by the EU, might dislocate textile made-ups and garment industries from Pakistan to Bangladesh and Sri Lanka.
Bangladesh, being a less developed country (LDC), will be enjoying duty-free access to the EU market, while Sri Lanka will be enjoying duty-free access to the EU under the generalised system of preferences (GSP) plus.
Thus the regional cumulation would "not only be killing for Pakistan's garments and textile made-up exports," but also weaken the sector's employment generation capacity and render thousands jobless, the MoC said.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Textile Industry invited comments, suggestions and expert advice from the textile industry so that their contribution might be taken into consideration in evolving the textile industry policy.
These may be sent to the ministry by July 16. Discussions on the subject will also be held with the stakeholders wherever necessitated.
The Ministry of Textile Industry intends to formulate the policy and submit it to the appropriate forum for approval by August 10.
One of the important tasks, assigned to the ministry, is to frame the textile industry policy, which is not only a challenge but also an opportunity for the policy-makers and all stakeholders involved in the entire value chain of textiles, ie production of cotton, ginning, spinning, weaving, processing, fabrics garments, etc besides research and development.
THE RULES OF BUSINESS PROVIDE THAT:
-- The Ministry of Commerce will consult the Ministry of Textile Industry on textile trade negotiations and also associate it with textile sector trade promotion.
-- The Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock will have the administrative control of Pakistan Central Cotton Committee with participation and inputs of the textile industry division.
The management of textile quotas is also one of the functions assigned to the Ministry of Textile Industry under the rules of business.
It will also have administrative control on the Federal Textile Board, Textile Commissioner's Organisation, Synthetic Fibre Development and Application Centre, Karachi, Textile City (projects), Karachi/Faisalabad, National Textile University, Faisalabad, Textiles and Quota Supervisory Council's Directorate General, all textile-related Export Promotion Bureau/Export Development Fund, funded institutes concerned with skill development in various sub-sectors of the textile industry, Textile Testing Laboratory, Faisalabad, Garment City Projects at Lahore, Faisalabad and Karachi, and Pakistan Cotton Standards Institute, Karachi.
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