It Is Difficult For China'S Clothing Export To Enjoy Zero Customs Clearance In ASEAN Free Trade

　 According to the Framework Agreement on China ASEAN Free Trade Area, more than 90% of products between China and the six old members of ASEAN (Brunei, the Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and Singapore) will be tariff free.

The average tariff of China to ASEAN will be reduced from 9.8% to 0.1%, and the average tariff of the six old members of ASEAN to China will be reduced from 12.8% to 0.6%. The four new ASEAN member countries (Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar) will also achieve 90% zero tariff of products in 2015.

However, as for some sensitive products set up by China and the ten ASEAN countries, it is unknown whether enterprises also have some understanding of these products. The final tax rate of these products is not zero. According to the national conditions of each country, 10% of the products should not exceed 400 (the old six ASEAN countries) and 500 (the new four ASEAN countries) as sensitive products under protection.

Judging from the list of sensitive products proposed by the ten ASEAN countries to China, textiles and clothing are not only "on the list", but also the restricted focus. Taking Indonesia as an example, the Indonesian Minister of Industry once said that although Indonesia would not try to renegotiate the free trade agreement reached, it requested to postpone the cancellation of import tariffs on 314 Chinese products in eight industries, including 87 projects in the textile industry. Textile is the industry with the most restricted projects except steel industry. Thailand also listed 28 products such as synthetic fiber blouses, pants, men's shirts, cotton pajamas, cotton and chemical fiber bathrobes, baby clothes, pantyhose, socks and other sensitive products. According to the plan, the import tariff rate of these products will be reduced to 20% by 2012 and 5% by 2018.

All kinds of signs show that it is difficult for most clothing products to achieve "zero tariff" according to the normal process, but this provides sufficient preparation time for clothing enterprises that are not ready.

First of all, garment enterprises should keep abreast of the timetable for China and ASEAN to open their markets, know which products are tariff free, and understand the timetable is conducive to seizing business opportunities. Secondly, we should pay attention to the changes in economic policies and industrial orientation of ASEAN countries, and we can use some specialized agencies to obtain business information about ASEAN. Moreover, ASEAN countries have different levels of economic development and market characteristics. Clothing enterprises should conduct research before entering the market, and develop the market according to the specific conditions of different countries.