By Jens Kastner
That said, American investors may not be the source of the money needed to create a robust Vietnamese modern fibre and dyes production sector, observed Julia Hughes, president of the United States Fashion Industry Association (USFIA), many of whose members source from Vietnam.
This is because US brands and importers typically do not have ownership of or investment in the actual production facilities of their Vietnamese contract manufacturers, she stressed: “This is one reason why we advocate zero TPP import duties from ‘day one;’ eliminating the tariffs would help [Vietnamese] manufacturers obtaining the capital to upgrade technology and other areas in order to move to more sustainable factories,” she said.