Vietnam may impose 2% duty on polyester staple fibre

Press reports from Vietnam suggest the government is considering a 2% duty on imports of polyester staple fibre to encourage domestic production.

The fibre is not currently subject to import duties, but Vietnam has concerns about its ability to take advantage of the market access benefits of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement.

Discussions so far indicate that duty-free apparel circulating among the signatories to the 12-country free trade agreement will have to be made from yarn produced by a TPP country (the “yarn forward” rule).

According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Vietnam imports around 150,000 tonnes of polyester fibre a year, while domestic producers do not run at full capacity.

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