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Argentina will defend domestic market from flood of “Asian textile imports”

Saturday, September 17th 2011 - 02:58 UTC
Full article 2 comments
Minister Giorgi said the textile industry created half a million jobs since 2003 Minister Giorgi said the textile industry created half a million jobs since 2003

Argentina will reinforce the defence of its domestic market from ‘the danger of an invasion of Asian countries’ imports, as a consequence of the world crisis, promised this week Industry Minister Debora Giorgi.

Addressing the ProTextil 2011 show, Giorgi said Argentina had managed “to recover a competitive textile industry with a strong potential as an international referent” and this is ‘one of the successful examples of the productive model with strong government support that has been implemented since 2003’.

Ms Giorgi said that the policy of the government since 2003 has been “to defend the domestic market, increase the purchasing power of labour and control the access of disloyal competitive imports plus soft loans and specific incentives to attract foreign investments”.

This way Argentina “has ensured manufacturing profitability so that textile entrepreneurs keep investing and consolidating the productive chain”.

Giorgi revealed that since 2003 the Argentine textile sector has increased production by 143%, added half a million jobs in the production chain, distributed nationally and increased exports by 61%.

“The government loaned the textile industry 134 million pesos (approx 34 million dollars) at a fixed rate of 9.9%. The five year loans include one of year of grace” said the Argentine minister adding that investments in the sector reached 1.5 billion dollars, with “first line corporations such as Brazil’s Correa, Santana, Santista and Vicunha deciding to establish plants in the country”.

(Official inflation in Argentina averages 8% to 9%; real market estimates, 23% to 25%)

“Let us not forget that in the nineties the textile industry was virtually wiped out with the loss of 180.000 jobs and the closure of 2.500 factories”, she emphasized.

Minister Giorgi called on the textile entrepreneurs to continue investing since “we have a domestic market with per capita consumption that is almost double what it was in 2003, soaring from 8 to 15 kilos”.

Likewise “we have the potential to boost that figure to 22 kilos”, since the textile industry has become federal, with the production chain, to the final consumer, encompassing development poles in different provinces.

Further on Ms Giorgi said that the international crisis threatens Latin America with an invasion of textiles from Asian countries, but to avoid this Argentina will reinforce the “scheme to safeguard the domestic market, a policy which was successful at the start of the 2009 international crisis”.

Minister Giorgi revealed that Argentina has “116 non automatic licence’ positions in the textile sector and 9 anti-dumping investigations on course”, but “we also have a solid competitive import substitution process with international brands such Lacoste, Nike, Adidas, Puma, Levi’s, Wrangler and Zara manufacturing in Argentina”.
 

Categories: Economy, Argentina.

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  • GeoffWard2

    For the Argentine clothing sector:
    “1. 116 non-automatic import licences’,
    2. 9 anti-dumping investigations,
    3. import substitution process with eg. Lacoste and Nike manufacturing in Argentina. ”

    Big-name, mostly USA labels, produced in China, being switched to production in Argentina:
    Good, but higher costs=lower profits, and where does the profit stay? In Argentina?

    Non-automatic licences:
    Inbuilt delays of 60+ days in processing port-of-entry import (like the Argentina-Brasil battle), with all the 'deals' done along the way.
    What counter-action will China impose? Cut the Argie Soy deal and expand with Brasil?

    Anti-dumping investigations:
    Good. But why so long and why no World Trade sanctions against China? Not politically astute to pull the tail of the tiger?

    Perhaps Unasur can create a South American trading position?
    Power through association;
    individually, S.A. nations will get eaten alive.

    Sep 17th, 2011 - 05:30 pm 0
  • Jeff

    1.5 billion dollar subsidies to an inefficient textiles market when the price of clothes here is already ridiculous, people pay overinflated prices as it is, it's just a pair of f^%*ing jeans and tennis shoes and the average person would have to work a sh%$$#@ of hours just to buy them. Argentine trade policies/attitudes are bizarre. I guess they don't believe in the idea of comparative advantage.

    Sep 18th, 2011 - 08:13 pm 0
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