Apparel / Textiles & Accessories

According to customs statistics, from January to August 2022, China's clothing exports to the major markets of the United States, the European Union, ASEAN and Japan were US $27.9 billion, US $24.35 billion, US $9.98 billion and US $9.39 billion, up 11.3%, 19.1%, 31.4% and 1.2% year on year respectively. Customs data shows that the European Union still firmly occupies the second place in China's clothing exports, and the year-on-year growth rate is significantly higher than the global average growth rate.

It is worth noting that, according to customs data, China's clothing exports to the United States fell 11.1% in August, while its exports to the EU grew 5.4%, significantly slower than the 30.4% year-on-year growth in July; From the feedback of some textile and clothing enterprises in Jiangsu, Zhejiang, Guangdong and other places, customs data shows that the growth rate of China's textile and clothing exports to the EU in September may change from an increase to a decrease, and the situation will further deteriorate.

According to the industry analysis, in addition to the EU's deep energy crisis and the pressure of high inflation in turn, and the continuous cooling of economic activities leading to the weakness of textile and clothing consumption demand, it is also related to the EU's "following the trend" of the United States' implementation of the import ban on cotton products in Xinjiang, the significant devaluation of the euro against the dollar exchange rate and other negative effects.

According to customs data, another factor that needs to be paid close attention is that the EU plans to tighten its textile and clothing import tax policy and strengthen the control over overseas packages, and the tariff will increase by 20% to 30%. From March 1, 2023, the new EU VAT policy will apply to all air cargo; From March 1, 2024, all low value goods imported from countries outside the EU, whether delivered by sea, road or rail, will pay VAT, and the tariff on imported textiles will be increased from 17% to 30%.