South Korea is currently the largest foreign investor in Vietnam's textile and garment sector with $6 billion in investment capital.

That is the information Mr. Truong Van Cam - Vice President of Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association gave at the "Sustainable Environment Workshop in Technology" fashion”, took place on the morning of October 24, organized by the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association in collaboration with the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology (KITECH).

Speaking at the workshop, Mr. Truong Van Cam said that Vietnam's textile and garment industry has developed rapidly in recent times, from focusing mostly on supplying the domestic market to becoming one of the three largest textile and garment exporting countries. world, only after China and Bangladesh. In the coming time, the industry still has many opportunities to continue to develop.

Looking at the Development Strategy of Vietnam's Textile, Garment and Footwear Industry to 2030, with a vision to 2035, it can be clearly seen that, Goverment By 2030, the industry will continue to grow at a rate of 6-6,8% per year, gradually shifting its focus from rapid development to sustainable development. By 2035, it will shift to effective and sustainable development in the direction of circular business and find ways to enhance the industry's value chain both domestically and internationally; build brands and export textiles and garments with Vietnam's own brands.

"The textile industry always wants to cooperate with organizations to enhance its competitiveness. KITECH is an example. Over the past 10 years, the Institute has provided important information on technology and textile development trends for Vietnamese enterprises to learn and apply.", Mr. Cam said.

The leader of the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association also said that the Vietnamese textile and garment industry is facing many challenges. Currently, most of the production output is for export, so fluctuations in the market have a quick and strong impact on the industry.There have been two recent periods that directly affected the textile and garment industry's exports, of which the 2-2008 global economic crisis caused Vietnam's textile and garment exports to decrease; in 2009-2020, the impact of the Covid-2021 pandemic and related consequences caused exports to fluctuate.", Mr. Cam gave an example.

Another factor that has a strong impact on the industry now and in the long term is the trend of sustainable development and rapid growth. Currently, major export markets of Vietnamese textiles and garments such as the US, Japan, EU, Korea, and China all promote this trend, even including laws that force suppliers to comply, rather than encourage it.

Regarding the Korean market, Mr. Cam informed that, in addition to the bilateral trade partnership agreement, Vietnam and Korea are currently members of many other agreements, such as: ASEAN-Korea, RCEP... This condition is a good opportunity for textile and garment enterprises of the two countries to increase cooperation and promote import and export. In particular, Vietnam and Korea have signed a free trade agreement with the EU, which will help Vietnamese textile and garment enterprises take advantage of Korean raw materials to meet the rules of origin and achieve a tax rate of 0% when exporting goods to the EU.

"In fact, South Korea is currently the largest foreign investor in Vietnam's textile and garment industry with 6 billion USD in investment capital. With this foundation, Vietnamese textile and garment enterprises hope that in the coming time, the Korean side will continue to cooperate more closely in human resource training; strengthen cooperation to supplement the shortage of supply, especially in dyeing and finishing; and transfer technology to Vietnamese enterprises.", Mr. Cam expected.

At the workshop, Mr. Kwark young-je (Professor of Soongsil University, Faculty of Engineering and Materials Science) also said that the textile industry has many factors affecting the environment: Micronutrients, chemicals, waste, water use... Therefore, converting the linear production-consumption-disposal cycle to circulation and reuse is very necessary.

Many countries around the world, including Korea, have given clear messages and directions on the circular economy.Korean enterprises have also been applying many technologies to recycle textile products, aiming for sustainable development, which is a huge trend in the industry.", Mr. Kwark young-je said.

The Korean government has also announced four major strategies to enhance the competitiveness of the textile industry, including an eco-friendly transformation strategy. However, Korea still lacks core technology and is still developing environmentally friendly application technology.

"Green transformation is a future trade barrier and also a stepping stone for the textile industry to develop rapidly, so this is a trend that businesses need to quickly grasp.”, Mr. Kwark young-je emphasized.

Source: Vietnam.vn
 

• USTR Makes Findings and Proposes Action in 60 Section 301 Investigations Relating to Failures to Take Action on Trade in Forced Labor Goods
• [VCCI] The US officially initiates a Section 301 Investigation into Vietnam on Intellectual property
• General Secretary and President To Lam's working visit to three ASEAN countries: Demonstrating the stature of proactive and constructive diplomacy.
• Viet Nam accelerates innovation drive as skilled workforce becomes key to science and technology growth
• The US is increasing controls on AI chip exports