UK’s revised trade concessions – best deal for Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka’s apparel industry now shares a competitive advantage in the UK market as they now qualify for a removal of barriers on raw materials sourcing alongside its duty free access effective January 1.
This makes the UK scheme “most advantageous” to the Sri Lankan apparel industry compared to its other markets like the US and the EU, Joint Apparel Association Forum (JAAF) spokesman Yohan Lawrence told the Sunday Times Business.
The apparel industry currently markets with duty free access to the EU and the UK and on a reciprocal tariff to the US.
Currently only about 50 per cent of exports from Sri Lanka enjoy duty free status to the UK and this new revision in the trade conditions allows manufacturers to source upto 100 per cent of their inputs from any country worldwide.
Mr. Lawrence said this will obviously lead to an uptick in the business to the UK as more buyers will be now willing to purchase from Sri Lanka as they stand to qualify for the same gains as their regional competitors like Bangladesh.
An increase in the numbers is expected to be seen based on this revision and this is likely to happen from June this year, it was noted.
Mr. Lawrence said JAAF had worked with UK teams both in London and Colombo and it has been very encouraging that Sri Lanka was able to secure this advantage in removing these trade barriers.
The apparel industry in Sri Lanka accounts for over 60 per cent of the country’s exports to the UK, supporting one million livelihoods across the country and which significantly boosts the country’s export potential to an important market.
The UK is Sri Lanka’s second largest garment export market at approximately US$675 million in value with exports expected to increase significantly under the new arrangements.
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