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Trade between Kenya and the United States surged last year, reaching $750 million, nearly 60 per cent more than the 2003 volume.However, much of the growth was due to Kenya's textile exports to the US, which rose by 41 per cent, thanks to the duty-free terms of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa).AGOA-eligible exports were worth $271 million last year, compared with $181 million in 2003.Imports from the US grew even more rapidly, however, by 100 per cent - mostly in the form of Boeing aircraft sales to Kenya Airways. In 2004,...

More than 1 600 workers at the Rhino Garments factory in Windhoek will lose their jobs when the factory closes at the end of this month.The Namibia Food and Allied Workers Union (Nafau) announced yesterday that it had been informed of the closure after months of "speculation, denials and allegations" about the future of the Ramatex subsidiary.Rumours that it would shut up shop started circulation as early as January.At a press briefing in Windhoek late yesterday, Nafau Acting Secretary General Kiros Sakarias said the union would negotiate...

The Windhoek City Council is attempting to smooth over reports that it overspent on its budget to provide the Ramatex Textile Factory with electricity.In an agenda item titled 'Ramatex - Electricity A Success' the City Council said at its monthly meeting on Wednesday that the public needed to know that the electricity installation at Ramatex had been done "well below budget cost and that the installation not only benefited Ramatex but also the city as a whole".A month earlier, the Council approved electricity infrastructure over-expenditure...

Namibia's Ministry of Trade, Ramatex management and the Namibia Food and Allied Workers Union (Nafau) have dismissed media reports that Rhino Garments, a subsidiary of the Ramatex textile company, is closing its doors.Nafau organiser John Paporo told reporters in the capital on Thursday that media reports to that effect were not true.On Wednesday, Rhino Garments had to call in the Police when some of its close to 1 700 workers demonstrated after reading in the paper that the company was closing.Paporo admitted that the company was...

A court ruling has delayed any final judgment on the US government’s motion to halt the preliminary injunction imposed on threat-based safeguard cases for at least six weeks. The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit wants to wait until a merits panel of judges is formed on April 28 to review the underlying appeal to overturn the injunction itself. Oral arguments for that appeal are scheduled for May 5.Furthermore, the merits panel is under no deadline to issue a ruling on the motion to stay once it is assigned the case. The Federal...

About 49 Namibian service providers stand to lose their businesses with the threat of closure of the Rhino Garments textile company in April.This will bring the total number of job losses to around 11 000, warned An-drew Ndishishi, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Trade and Industry.Rhino Garments, which is a subsidiary company of Ramatex Namibia, is in the process of wrapping up its business in Namibia, after losing out on USA buyers who are under pressure not to buy Namibian garment products, because of letters sent by union...

A court ruling has delayed any final judgment on the US government’s motion to halt the preliminary injunction imposed on threat-based safeguard cases for at least six weeks. The US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit wants to wait until a merits panel of judges is formed on April 28 to review the underlying appeal to overturn the injunction itself. Oral arguments for that appeal are scheduled for May 5.Furthermore, the merits panel is under no deadline to issue a ruling on the motion to stay once it is assigned the case. The Federal...

Rhino Garments, a subsidiary of Ramatex Namibia, is closing its doors in April 2005.The company that employs 1 700 workers gave notification and warning of possible closure to the Ministry of Trade and Industry this month. The future of its employees is still not known.It has complained that it no longer has a market for its products and therefore there is no reason to continue operating in Namibia.In a letter to the Ministry of Trade and Industry, the company has also asked the ministry to help in the retrenchment of workers as from...

A crisis had been reached in the clothing industry in Durban where, by June, 8 000 jobs would have been lost in 18 months, representing 40 percent of the industry's employment in the metro area, Len Smart, the executive director of the Natal Clothing Manufacturers' Association (NCMA), said at the weekend. Five thousand jobs have already been lost in the clothing industry in Durban over the past 15 months.Gert van Zyl, the executive director of the Cape Clothing Association (CCA), said the commercial viability of Western Cape clothing...

Apparels Tri-Star is on track with the objectives of African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), US government trade experts have said.Nannette Christ and Cindy Cohen, from the US's International Trade Commission said this while touring the factory in Bugoloobi yesterday. The duo are on a study tour of AGOA-eligible sub-Saharan African countries."Apparels Tri-Star is a huge high-class factory," Christ said.The duo said the dormitories and the dinning hall of the factory are better than those in Boston where they live.They will visit...

According to Chinese Customs data, exports of major apparel products from China into the US market increased by an average of 546 per cent in January 2005 over January 2004.The figures, which show the impact of China’s release from quota control as a result of joining the World Trade Organisation, also highlight the fact that Chinese prices have fallen by as much as 45 per cent. The largest export increases were in cotton knit shirts and trousers, which were up 1,836 per cent and 1,332 per cent respectively.China shipped nearly 27 million...

At just under $6-billion, 2004 was another record year for the value of exports from South Africa to the US, the South African Chamber of Business (Sacob) reported last week.Sacob said the 21% year-on-year growth in the value of exports was primarily due to excellent increases in exports of precious metals and stones, and iron and steel products.“The above two product groups accounted for 56% of the total value of exports,” Sacob said in a statement.Platinum and diamonds accounted for 97% of precious metals and stones exports while...

A US report shows that Kenyan firms continue to violate workers' rights, contrary to the law.The report on human rights released by the State department's Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labour, points a particularly accusing finger at firms within the Export Processing Zones (EPZs). The Government, says the report, voices support for union freedom, but is unable to enforce the law fully, as some employees are wrongfully dismissed because they join unions.Although the law provides that all workers be free to join unions of their...

Countries in the CEMAC zone have drawn up national plans that would enable them increase their agricultural exports to the United States under the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act, AGOA. The CEMAC zone countries drew up the plans during a three-day "Public/Private Sector Forum on SPS (Sanitary and Phytosanitary issues) and Trade" organised by the United States Department of Agriculture, USDA.   The plans are related to Sanitary and Phytosanitary issues under AGOA.During the seminar that held from February 22-24, participants...

Recent press coverage has focused on the consequences for developing countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, particularly COMESA countries, with the end of the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC) formerly referred to as the Multi-fiber Agreement (MFA) on January 1, 2005.The post ATC world poses definite challenges for COMESA countries and other Sub-Saharan African countries, but the situation is far from being dire or hopeless. Any producer willing to undertake measures to improve the productivity of its competitively priced workers should be...

The Zambian government has expressed worry at the continued failure by local manufacturers to exploit favourable export trade provisions under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).Ministry of Commerce, Trade and Industry permanent secretary Davies Chilipamushi said yesterday that despite Government opening up marketing opportunities, the volume of trade had continued to stagnate.He said the trade balance had now tilted against Zambia because of the poor response by producers and exporters to exploit market opportunities.He said...

The Electricity Department of the Windhoek Municipality overspent its budget by N$9,2 million, with close to half of the money spent on sustaining operations at the Ramatex Textile Factory.Wednesday evening's City Council meeting was informed by the Electricity Department that the City of Windhoek spent N$1,8 million to provide subsidised electricity to Ramatex.Another N$2,5 million was pumped into the operations of the textile factory, but the Electricity Department did not specify what it was for.This means that more than N$4,3 million, or...

The Central African Economic and Monetary Community (CEMAC) public-private sector forum, which started in Yaounde last Tuesday, ended yesterday with recommendations on boosting trade between the sub-region and the USA.In opening the forum, United States ambassador, Niels Marquardt highlighted the expanding commercial ties between the United States and African countries. The recently renewed African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) promotes increased trade between Sub-Saharan African countries and the United States, through duty-free access...

Growth in Lesotho's economy slowed towards the end of 2004, as Asian clothing factories left the poverty-stricken mountain kingdom, after global textile quota changes, Finance Minister Timothy Thahane said yesterday. In a budget speech to parliament, Thahane said gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by about 3,4% in 2004, with a significant down-turn in the last six months of the year as some Chinese and Taiwanese-owned factories closed. He gave no comparative figures or estimate for 2005, but in the middle of last year, he predicted the...

Never before has an international trade agreement, or rather the expiry of an agreement, caused such uproar globally among stakeholders as has been the case with the agreement on textiles and clothing (ATC). This WTO agreement, which is binding on all WTO member states and which had been in place since 1995 after replacing the decades-old multifibre agreement, provided the framework for a structured removal of trade-restricting quotas on textiles and garments over 10 years. Having been heavily back-loaded, the final (and by far the largest)...

The African textile and clothing industry's near fairy tale of jobs and investments growing year after year is ending badly, turning into a cautionary fable of the challenges of global trade.Thousands of jobs have already been lost across the continent as investors dismantle factories built to take advantage of the US African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa).More than 22 000 people lost their textile factory jobs between June last year and January in Lesotho because the country could not compete in a quota-free market, said Lesotho...

Last week's meeting between representatives of government, labour and clothing and textile industries has revived hopes of protecting the troubled industries from a surge of cheap imports from China and other east Asian countries.Textile Federation of SA executive director Brian Brink said this week that talks were on track and that he was optimistic about their progress. According to the South African Clothing and Textile Workers Union (Sactwu), the industry has shed about 30 000 jobs in the last two years.A task team consisting of...

The clothing and textile industry in the Southern African Customs Union (Sacu) has seen significant developments in the past four years. For many developing countries, including those in Sacu, the industry has been central to the development of their manufacturing sectors.The sector provides low-cost job creation, absorbs relatively low skills, and often employs women. Hence, from a poverty-reduction and development perspective, the clothing and textile industry is important.Clothing production, especially, has become a very mobile industry....

Kenya's textile exports to the US have earned the country Sh16 billion.Trade and Industry Minister, Dr Mukhisa Kituyi, further reveals that since 2000 when the Agoa programme started, 35 new garment factories have been set up.In a speech read by Assistant minister Petkay Miriti, Kituyi told a visiting US Black Chamber of Commerce delegation that in 2004, Agoa-related investment had risen to US$17.1 million.The touring group represents Sh800 billion worth of African-American investments.Mrs Kay Debow, is leading the team that include...

Government says it is capable of resolving all labour issues with Malaysian textile factory Ramatex, as international pressure mounts for the country to take action to improve the working conditions of thousands of workers.The Ministry of Trade and Industry yesterday called a press conference to confirm that it has stepped in to facilitate talks between the Ramatex Textile Factory and the Namibia Food and Allied Workers' Union (Nafau) on issues of labour relations and productivity at the factories on the western outskirts of Windhoek. "It...

Although there are some divergent views on labour conditions at Ramatex, the government says the company and the representative labour union are competent enough to resolve their differences.The government, through the Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI) has been chairing consultative meetings since last Friday between the two parties on labour relations, including labour productivity and the competitiveness of Ramatex. Andrew Ndishishi, permanent secretary for MTI told the press yesterday the two parties have expressed willingness to work...

Cape Town — Parliament’s trade and industry committee is to intervene in the crisis affecting the country’s clothing and textile industries by holding public hearings at which stakeholders will air their views and seek solutions. The sectors are suffering from a deluge of cheap Chinese imports, and parties from across the political spectrum have expressed concern about the huge job losses that have resulted. Currently, 40% of all fabric imports, 60% of textile imports and 86% of clothing imports come from China.The Democratic Alliance...

The management at Malaysian textile giant Ramatex has finally agreed to improve the treatment of its 6,000-strong workforce after closed-door discussions at the weekend with the Namibian government and organised labour."It transpired that there are some divergent views on issues pertaining to labour conditions at Ramatex Namibia," Andrew Ndishishi, permanent secretary in the Ministry of Trade and Industry said at a joint media briefing on Monday.Ndishishi said those issues would now be resolved "within the framework of the law and agreements...

A number of major international garment buyers are calling for action against the Ramatex Textile Factory in Windhoek, as pressure mounts on the Malaysian outfit to "clean up its act".In the last two weeks the International Textile Garment and Leather Workers' Federation (ITGLWF) has written not only to President Sam Nujoma and the Ministers of Trade and Industry and Labour, but to US stores Sears, Kmart, ShopKo, OshKosh B'Gosh Inc and Children's Place. Ramatex is under fire over its continued violations of the country's labour law, and its...

Apparels Tri-Star chief Velupillai Kananathan has said more investors are still needed in the textile industry to enable Uganda fully exploit the huge American market under AGOA.Kananathan was recently speaking during a tour of the Bugolobi-based factory by a Los Angeles trade delegation."The textile industry in Uganda is still under-exploited. This company and a few others are not enough. We need as many industries of a kind as possible to be able to take full advantage of the wider American market, to employ more people, increase the...

The African Growth and Opportunity Act is continuing to fuel expansion of Kenya's textile and clothing industry while also encouraging investments in this and other sectors in Tanzania and Uganda, according to a new US government report.Kenya's exports to the US under Agoa's duty-free terms grew rapidly in the first six months of 2004, the most recent period measured in the report by the US International Trade Commission. Kenya sold $132 million worth of goods to the American market from January to June last year. The corresponding figure...

The United States-Africa business summit, which attracts African and American private and public sector representatives, offers African and American businessmen and women, first-rate networking opportunities while at the same time providing participants with up-to-date information on practical business issues and specific policy matters confronting the US private sector in the African marketplace.The 2005 summit, which is expected to be the largest event of its kind in the United States, strives to increase US investment through out Africa...

Johannesburg - The ailing local textile and clothing industry has urged the department of trade and industry to modify an export incentive scheme to help manufacturers pay off interest on loans owed to government-owned finance agencies such as the Industrial Development Corporation.The incentive scheme in question is the duty credit certificate scheme (DCCS), which is modelled on the highly successful motor industry development programme (MIDP). It operates by giving local firms duty credit certificates for exporting. The certificates are...

Johannesburg - Southern African clothing and textile industries need to restrategise if they are to compete in a quota-free global market after the Multi-Fibre Agreement (MFA) expired last month, economists told IRIN."They should market their products regionally, availing the benefits from tariff-free zones created by the Southern African Customs Union, and those being negotiated by the Southern African Development Community," said Eckart Naumann, an economist and associate of the non-profit Trade Law Centre for Southern Africa.Helena...

Zambia has remained one of the countries that has benefited the least from the Africa Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA) with exports that have remained meagre and mostly indirect.The direct trade was largely in the form of yarn exported to countries that make clothing for the United States of America (USA) market. According to statistics, total trade between sub-Saharan Africa and the USA in 2002 amounted to US$ 24 billion of which $18 billion were USA imports from Africa.However, only a small portion of this huge amount came to Zambia as money...

Kenya may be barred from exporting textile products to the US under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) in three years unless it revives the cotton industry.Kenya National Chamber of Commerce and Industry chief executive officer Titus Ruhiu said at the weekend that the Act stipulates that only textile products made from locally produced raw material would be allowed into the US market by 2008.Currently, some industrialists have been relying on imported thread and cotton as Kenya does not have enough raw material following the...

The Swazi government estimates that a third of all garment industry jobs will be lost by mid-year due to the crisis facing textile firms. "The textile industry created 45,000 jobs in 2001 and 2003. Fifteen thousand jobs will be lost from last year to June this year [2005]," Enterprise and Employment Minister Lutfo Dlamini told a meeting of the Swaziland Textile Exporters Association last week. Robert Maxwell of the textile exporters association said none of the 10 major textile companies in the country, which are largely Taiwanese-owned, had...

Durban - Independent clothing manufacturers and suppliers this week accused the local textile industry of being its own worst enemy, claiming that poor quality, service and high prices left much to be desired.Arthur Limbouris, a director of Quiksilver, said many of the small and medium converters had begun importing from China when local manufacturers turned their focus to the export market at the time the rand weakened and the US's Africa Growth and Opportunity Act offered tremendous incentives."The net result was that small and medium...

Asian-owned textile firms are fleeing Lesotho after the end of a global quota agreement left the impoverished southern African state unable to compete in the US with cheaper Chinese exports, unions say.Massive reform is needed if the remaining industry, which makes T-shirts and jeans for US chains like Gap and Timberland and employs thousands, is not to disappear entirely from Lesotho, they say."In the last quarter of last year ... six factories closed down, drastically increasing the number of unemployed people," Bahlakoana Lebakae, deputy...

At least one of the six clothing and textile factories in Lesotho which closed down in December 2004, is expected to reopen early next month, a senior government official told IRIN this week.About 7,000 clothing and textile workers' jobs were under a cloud when the factories, some of them believed to be facing "cash-flow problems", failed to reopen early this year."We are also trying to help at least another two factories - in the form of export incentives - to reopen next month as well," said David Rantekoa, permanent secretary for trade...

The Namibian Food and Allied Workers' Union (Nafau) has requested Government to facilitate a meeting with Malaysian textile factory, Ramatex, to iron out longstanding labour issues.Nafau General Secretary Kiros Sakarias said yesterday that it was "high time" the issues were raised at a common forum.He claimed the factory continued to be in breach of the country's labour law as well as agreements entered into with the factory."It is not fair [for us] to allow the situation to go on unabated and then claim to represent the workers," Sakarias...

A few years ago, the tiny kingdom of Lesotho appeared to have a lot on offer for investors: cheap labour, generous tax incentives and proximity to the regional powerhouse, South Africa.Textile manufacturers certainly seemed to like what they saw.Taiwanese entrepreneurs started arriving in Lesotho in 2000. By investing in the country, they were also able to take advantage of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa). This US programme was set up to allow duty-free access to the American market for a wide selection of exports from...

Government should urgently devise a rescue package to pull the textile industry out of its job-shedding crisis, the opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) said yesterday.DA spokesmen Mark Lowe and Enyinna Nkem-Abonta said such a package should include assistance for enterprises compelled to move into more competitive niche markets as well as reskilling programmes for employees affected.The crisis has been caused by the influx of cheap Chinese imports and the strong rand, which undermine the local industry's ability to compete in domestic and...

A few years ago, the tiny kingdom of Lesotho appeared to have a lot on offer for investors: cheap labour, generous tax incentives and proximity to the regional powerhouse, South Africa.Textile manufacturers certainly seemed to like what they saw.Taiwanese entrepreneurs started arriving in Lesotho in 2000. By investing in the country, they were also able to take advantage of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). This U.S. programme was set up to allow duty-free access to the American market for a wide selection of exports from...

Trade and Industry Minister, Dr. Kadie Sesay revealed last Friday told Concord Times that government has finalized arrangements with a Chinese company to undertake the assembling of tractors for agricultural development in the country."We've completed an agreement with a Chinese company for the assembling of tractors for agriculture and very soon, we would start assembling tractors in this country," Dr. Sesay said, adding that other Chinese companies have undertaken great work in transforming the National Workshop into an industrial...

Durban - The government task team that aims to address the problems threatening to destroy the textile and clothing industries has been revived and will meet on February 1 after five dormant months. The task team, which was appointed by former minister of trade and industry Alec Erwin, only met three times between May and August last year. The textile industry has lost 30 000 jobs over the past two years.Brian Brink, the chief executive of the SA Textile Federation, yesterday welcomed the resumption of meetings. "It is unfortunate that some...

Trade between the United States and sub-Saharan Africa increased appreciably in 2003, partly as a result of benefits offered under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), according to a report by the U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC), "U.S. Trade and Investment with Sub- Saharan Africa."U.S. imports from sub-Saharan African countries eligible for African Growth and Opportunity Act benefits increased 36.3 percent to $14 billion in 2003. The largest share came from Nigeria, reflecting the rise in AGOA imports from U.S. purchases...

Swaziland's economy faces a serious challenge now that it has to compete with Asian giants like China for a share of clothing and textile exports to the United States.The World Trade Organisation's (WTO) elimination of quotas for clothing and textile exports to the US on 1 January 2005, means Swaziland's burgeoning garment industry is under threat.Union leaders told IRIN that already one foreign-owned factory had relocated its business, while two others had closed for the December holiday period but had yet to reopen, as their export order...

When China joined the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in 2003, various safeguards were imposed on Beijing: any member of the WTO is allowed to limit textile shipments from China to 7.5 percent for a year, or 6 percent for wool products. Member countries can apply to renew these measures on an annual basis until 2008, when the China safeguards fall away. Normal safeguards can still be invoked, but the onus of proof will lie on the country that believes its industry and economy are being damaged. Turkey last week invoked these safeguards...

Johannesburg - An analysis of South Africa's trade with the US in November 2004 by the South African Chamber of Business (Sacob) showed a 61.1% year-on-year (y/y) surge in exports to $526.6m. The November 2004 total is 11.8% below the record $597.168m reached in June 2004, but is still nevertheless the sixth highest. Exports for the first 11 months are up 19.61% y/y to $5.342bn and 39.5% above the first 11 months of 2002, despite a 15% strengthening against the dollar in 2004 compared with 2003 and a 39% gain compared with 2002's average....