Why Do You Feel Guilty If You Are Hindered In Exporting American Clothes

"Recently, the U.S. Customs has strictly checked whether the textile goods contain Xinjiang cotton. In the process of inspection, it is required to provide relevant proof that the ingredients of the goods do not contain Xinjiang cotton before they can be released." A number of cross-border sellers have received notices and reminders from logistics service providers.

According to the so-called Xinjiang related act of the United States Council, the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Bureau (CBP) on June 21, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), according to the so-called Xinjiang related act of the United States Council, presumed that all products produced in Xinjiang were so-called "forced labor" products, and prohibited the import of any products related to Xinjiang. Since then, the export of related textile articles containing "Xinjiang cotton" has been included in the strict inspection scope of the United States Customs.

"Tens of thousands of clothing companies rely on domestic cotton in the supply chain. If the United States fully implements the bill, cotton products such as T-shirts, jeans and children's wear will be blocked at the border and cannot be exported normally." Zhang Yuanda was shocked.

He has been rooted in the clothing export industry for more than ten years, and has been a cross-border e-commerce for nearly six years. But this time, he is stuck in a longer-term anxiety. In addition to the risk of export goods being seized and inspected by the customs due to the policy in the short term, he is also worried about how long his garment cross-border e-commerce export business can last.

"This year, the growth of the whole cross-border e-commerce has slowed down, and many enterprises have taken a" winter "look. Even some top star enterprises have not survived the decline in growth rate and unsalable products, let alone small and medium-sized sellers like us?" Zhang Yuanda said frankly that at this time, it would be even worse if it was blocked by policies.

In response, a spokesman for the Ministry of Commerce pointed out that the bill is a typical act of economic coercion, seriously damaging the vital interests of enterprises and consumers in China and the United States. It is not conducive to the stability of the global industrial chain supply chain, the alleviation of global inflation and the recovery of the world economy.

　　01、 How to "prove innocence"?

Some sources pointed out that the delay of the listing time of sheen to 2024 may also be related to the strengthening of "supply chain review". According to the source, sheen was also affected by the "U.S. cotton ban on Xinjiang", involving the gradual removal of "some domestic cotton products" from the shelves in May this year, and suspended sales in mid June.

"In response to policy changes, Sheen has replaced some of its supply chain raw materials with 'imported cotton' to reduce the risk of using domestic cotton." Said the person.

At present, the clothing enterprises represented by sheen are affected by the ban, and the most direct response is "self certification", that is, provide evidence to prove that the goods sold "do not contain Xinjiang cotton", which will undoubtedly greatly increase the operating costs of enterprises. Especially for the cost-effective route of enterprises, increased a lot of burden.

A freight forwarder pointed out that when cotton products are exported to the United States, the seller needs to provide six kinds of supporting documents, including certificate of origin (the customer's purchase order information should be indicated, and the factory address of the goods should be indicated), cotton raw silk purchase order and invoice, cotton thread purchase order and invoice, cotton cloth purchase order and invoice, cotton cloth purchase order and invoice, cotton fabric purchase order and invoice, cotton fabric purchase order and invoice, cotton fiber purchase order and invoice, cotton yarn purchase order and invoice, cotton fabric purchase order Seller's self guarantee (stating that the export product does not contain Xinjiang cotton) and any additional documents required to comply with the order of the United States Customs.

In other words, it is a very cumbersome and difficult work to prove that cotton related commodities do not include Xinjiang cotton for those enterprises whose commodities contain cotton materials.

"It is very difficult to issue L / C for such a large quantity of goods. The suppliers of clothing ODM Supply the goods to the sellers, and the suppliers take the goods from the Zhongda cloth market or cloth shops (some of which have not been invoiced), and the cloth companies take the goods from the cotton origin or wholesalers. How can you prove where the cotton flowers are?" Zhang Yuanda lamented that the clothing industry chain is long, and it is difficult for the upstream to give full support.

Fu Bo, a clothing supplier, also pointed out that the habit of the cotton textile industry is to match cotton from all over the country, and it is difficult to distinguish which part of the cotton raw materials are from Xinjiang. For export enterprises, if there is no clear law enforcement guidance, they will also be at a loss, aggravating the risk of supply chain disruption.

　　02、 Two types of enterprises have obvious "earthquake feeling":

To B: the difficulty of suppliers receiving orders increases sharply, and the cost of brand manufacturers rises

Textile export suppliers are the first to feel the "deterrent" of cotton ban.

Some textile enterprises from Zibo, Shandong, Yancheng, Jiangsu and other places said that since July, fashion brands in Europe and North America have increasingly strict requirements on cotton traceability. Some order contracts explicitly prohibit Xinjiang cotton, and set the proportion of American cotton content, which makes it more difficult for cloth factories to receive orders. "Even traders in Southeast Asia and ASEAN need Chinese export enterprises to provide" raw material certification. " Xiaotian, the person in charge of a textile enterprise, sighed.

It is worth mentioning that compared with Chinese fashion brands, Chinese fashion brands prefer polyester, synthetic fiber and other materials with lower cost and higher durability. In the counters of European and Japanese enterprises (such as Muji and UNIQLO), pure cotton fabric will be used for T-shirts, cardigans, dresses, pullovers, etc.

According to the official of China Textile Federation, Xinjiang cotton is a high-quality natural fiber material recognized by the global industry, accounting for about 20% of the global cotton production. According to the National Bureau of statistics, the total cotton output of Xinjiang in 2021 will be 5.219 million tons, accounting for 89.5% of the national cotton output.

"Before that, many clothing brands signed long-term contracts with us, but after the ban was issued, some brands in Europe, Japan, South Korea and Canada reduced or stopped using Xinjiang cotton." Xiaotian said.

Cross border e-commerce SMEs are relatively lucky. According to the survey of Yibang power, although the ban has been announced for more than a month, so far, these businesses have not perceived the substantial impact of policy adjustment on their clothing production and sales.

"Our volume is small and there is no compliance demand for listing." Hong Xiao, the seller, said bluntly, "there are concerns about how much, but when customs declaration, don't mention the goods containing cotton. After all, our pure cotton clothing products are still a few."

"The implementation of the policy and the delivery of goods from China in the past still need time to digest. It is estimated that it will be two months later to see the real impact." Another seller to judge.

A number of cross-border enterprises pointed out to Yibang power that the ban has a more obvious impact on B2B merchants and brand-name businesses exporting large goods, while small and medium-sized B2C cross-border sellers with a small quantity can be spared. "The quantity of small sellers is small, more direct mail packets, and there is no easy way to confirm what kind of cotton is used for clothing. The customs will not check it." Yang Yu, a cross-border logistics service provider, also pointed out in the exchange.

The brand clothing enterprises, represented by sheen, cider, full volume and full speed, have higher requirements on the traceability of raw materials, billing, policy risk, etc., or face more cost pressure and uncertainty caused by structural adjustment in the change of external environment.

"If it is really strictly checked, it is very difficult for clothing sellers to avoid risks. After all, with such a large number of SKUs, it is difficult to check and exclude cotton related commodities one by one." Pay attention to the clothing of the sea investors Ma Wen think.

"There seems to be little news at present, but you are not sure about the real test (traceability is required for all export orders) When will it be implemented. Once the United States and the European Union comprehensively upgrade the import ban on Xinjiang cotton, the goods may be directly seized or even destroyed at the customs. Moreover, overseas customers can also claim high compensation from enterprises that do not meet the "requirements" on the ground of "ban". Therefore, foreign buyers, domestic clothing foreign trade companies have become more cautious, the idea of risk aversion has the upper hand. " Yang Yu said.

　　03、 Technology upgrading, the rise of domestic products

There is still a huge space for Chinese clothing brands

In view of the instability of the cotton material supply chain side, some export enterprises have taken such measures as "replacing domestic cotton with imported cotton" and "moving out of the supply chain".

An insider of sheen told Yibang power that taking sheen as an example, the safest way is to replace all domestic cotton with imported cotton, and then provide an import list. "But doing so will increase the cost by 20% - 30%." The person said.

Xiaotian also pointed out that some textile and clothing export enterprises he knew tried to replace cotton from Australia and Brazil. "The production capacity and quality of Australian cotton in normal years are not inferior to that of China or the United States." At the same time, there are also companies that move their supply chain procurement and production directly overseas, such as Turkey and parts of Southeast Asia, to further improve the compliance of production / manufacturing.

In the process of communication, many enterprises pointed out to Yibang power that export enterprises that attach importance to standardization must attach great importance to ESG (that is, environmental, social and corporate governance, which refers to an investment and management approach that actively responds to the concept of sustainable development by incorporating environmental, social and governance factors into investment decision-making and enterprise management), To minimize the risk on the IPO road.

Obviously, in the past, China's clothing export business has been in labor-intensive mode for a long time. However, the barriers of price competition and marketing means are not high. Studying the development history of global fashion brands, we can find that technological innovation may be the "invisible hand" behind the trend.

"Compared with the surging overseas fashion design inspiration, the innovation power of China's overseas brands is relatively weak. However," developing a new and forward-looking fabric "is a quantifiable, more commercialized and more in line with the ESG concept of innovation." Marvin put forward.

It has been verified in the rise of a new generation of Chinese garment enterprises, such as jiaonei, baixiaot, cocofit, Youlan, etc. The green underwear with zero carbon Tencel t m fiber fabric is introduced in banana; According to the principle of bionic lotus leaf membrane, white small t has developed a cold resistant "space suit" with aerogel material, and developed a T-shirt with oil resistance, water resistance and dirt resistance according to the principle of bionic lotus leaf membrane; Youlan uses Eucalyptus fiber as raw material to make household clothes.

While domestic clothing brands constantly arm themselves with technology and strengthen brand barriers, many foreign clothing brands that once dominated the Chinese market have left the market because of their backwardness. In addition to the failure of H & M, in fact, since 2016, M & S, Topshop and newlook from the United Kingdom, Forever 21 and OLDNAVY from the United States, C & A from the Netherlands and mango from Spain have all withdrawn one after another. This has also left more market space for Chinese clothing brands.

For overseas fashion brands, it is also true that technological breakthroughs have brought about industry innovation, and "sustainable" fabrics are always easier to accept. Once someone takes the lead in the game, no one wants to be that "not environmentally friendly" alien.

"After fast fashion's massive use of polyester fiber monopolized the market and was referred to as the" killer of the environment, "sustainable fabrics with transparent, biodegradable, recyclable and durable supply chains became popular." Mike, head of a clothing supplier who supplies to sheen.

Yuan Wei, founder of cocofit, a yoga clothing brand, also pointed out that the biggest difference between the new clothing industry and the traditional clothing industry is that the former relies on "differentiated technology" to compete with each other, while the latter (especially the fast fashion industry based on rapid style update) is the product of improving the grafting efficiency in different channels. Yuan Wei saw that the "new fabrics" with stronger air permeability, quick drying function and elasticity, which are currently used in yoga clothes, may be used in more clothing categories in the future, or even become the replacement of full basic models. This is the imagination of the clothing industry brought by the "technology" attribute.

As a person in charge of a clothing brand at sea laments, the business in the global market is treacherous. Yesterday, it was the "low price trade protection" under the EU tax reform. Today, it may be the "reduction of price advantage" under the blockade of raw materials and supply chain. If the enterprise has the "hard power" to do endorsement, it will no longer be like grass floating in the wind.