CHILE - 2006 UPDATED STATISTICS FOR TEXTILES AND APPAREL

UNCLAS SANTIAGO 001699 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR EB/TPP/ABT - GARY A. CLEMENTS COMMERCE FOR ITA/OTEXA - MARIA D'ANDREA STATE PLEASE PASS TO USTR FOR CAROYL MILLER E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ECON ETRD KTEX CI SUBJECT: CHILE - 2006 UPDATED STATISTICS FOR TEXTILES AND APPAREL SECTOR REF: STATE 114799 ¶1. Per reftel, Post provides the following data for textile and apparel production in Chile in 2006. Please note that some of the final figures for all of 2006 are not yet available. VALUE OF TOTAL INDUSTRIAL PRODUCTION IN USD -------------- ¶2. Total industrial production in Chile for 2006 was USD 18.6 billion. According to SOFOFA, Chile's Chamber of Commerce and Industry, total industrial production increased 2.4 percent on a year-to-year basis from July 2006 to July 2007. Total production for the first 7 months of 2007 grew 3.9 percent. Industrial production represented 17.1 percent of Chile's total GDP in 2006. VALUE OF TOTAL TEXTILES AND APPAREL PRODUCTION IN USD -------------- -------------- ¶3. Textiles and apparel production totaled USD 694 million in 2005 and USD 262 million during the first half of 2006. Data for the second half of 2006 and for the first half of 2007 is incomplete in part because many Chilean textile producers are going out of business. The industry is losing market share and competitiveness due to cheaper imports. Textile and apparel industrial production has experienced a drop of close to 20 percent during the last 12 months. Textile and apparel production constituted less than 4 percent of Chile's total industrial production in 2006. In 2005, textile and apparel production constituted 4.5 percent of total industrial production. TEXTILE AND APPAREL'S SHARE OF CHILE'S TRADE -------------- ¶4. Chile's total exports for 2006 were USD 58.1 billion, of which USD 16.5 billion were industrial exports. Textile and apparel exports totaled only USD 179 million in 2006. Overall industrial exports represented 37 percent of Chile's total exports for 2006. Textiles and apparel represented only 1.3 percent of total industrial exports and 0.5 percent of Chile's total exports. ¶5. Chile's imports during 2006 totaled USD 35.9 billion. Of that, USD 30.2 billion were industrial imports. Textile and apparel imports totaled USD 1.54 billion in 2006 (up from USD 1.28 billion in 2005),representing 5 percent of total industrial imports. Industrial imports represented 84 percent of Chile's total imports of which 4.96 percent were textiles and apparel. Just as a point of reference, Chile's importation of textiles and apparel is up nearly 100 percent in the period 2003-2006. TEXTILE AND APPAREL EXPORTS TO THE UNITED STATES -------------- --- ¶6. Total Chilean exports to the U.S. in 2006 were USD 8.9 billion, of which USD 1.4 billion were industrial exports. Total Chilean imports from the U.S. in 2006 reached USD 5.5 billion, an 18 percent growth over 2005. Import growth was strongly influenced by petroleum oil imports (gas oil, diesel oil, and gasoline) which totaled USD 1.2 billion, equivalent to 21 percent of the total import value from the United Sates. Even excluding these energy imports, U.S.-produced goods exported to Chile grew by 16 percent. According to Chilean Customs Service data, Chile exported to the United States USD 33.3 million worth of textile and apparel while similar imports from the United States to Chile totaled USD 72 million in 2006. TOTAL MANUFACTURING EMPLOYMENT -------------- ¶7. The manufacturing/industrial sector provided employment for 836,000 workers in 2006. During 2006, 25 thousand new jobs were created in the industrial sector. Employment in the manufacturing/industrial sector represented 13.3 percent of total employment. There is no disaggregated data available for sub-sector. OTHER QUESTIONS -------------- ¶8. The Textile Institute (INTECH) -- Chile's national association of the textile, apparel and shoes industries -- provided 2006 updates to this year's questions: -- Are Chile's producers receiving lower prices due to heightened international competition? Have manufacturers received more, less, or the same number of orders as in years past? Have foreign investors, particularly Asian investors, closed factories or otherwise pulled out of local production? According to INTECH, prices in Chile continue to drop in response to international competition. About 60 percent of Chile's imports of textiles and apparels come from Asia, predominantly China. At the same time, the cost of energy in Chile has increased the cost for the industry by about 30 percent. Together with the peso's appreciation this has prompted re-structuring of the industrial sector in general. There is no discernable Asian investment in the textile and apparel industry in Chile. Asian companies are focused on the import of textile and apparel production rather than setting up production in Chile. -- Have U.S. and EU restrictions on certain exports of textiles and apparel from China, effective through 2007/2008, affected Chilean export prospects for host country manufacturers? In general terms, the U.S.-Chile Free Trade Agreement (FTA) created preferential access to the U.S. textile and apparel market, providing trade benefits to the Chilean textile sector. According to INTECH, since the implementation of the FTA in January 2004, Chile's sales to the U.S. have increased by about 50 percent, with the immediate tariff elimination under the FTA accounting for that. However, it is INTECH's view that U.S. and EU restrictions on Chinese textiles and apparel prompted China to look for alternative markets, such as Chile. China's increasing participation in the Chilean textile and apparel domestic market is clearly hurting local producers. Chinese textiles and apparel imports represents about 57 percent of Chile's total imports of these items, with Chinese participation in this market growing by 29 percent from 2005 to 2006. For comparison, the United States is the third most important supplier of textiles and apparel to Chile, with a market share of only about 4.7 percent. -- Has Chile implemented, or is it considering implementing safeguards or other measures to reduce the growth of imports of Chinese textile and apparel products into the country? During the 1980's economic crisis in Chile, most textile and apparel companies went bankrupt. To support the re-structuring of the industry the GOC, through the National Committee for Analysis of Economic Distortions, imposed a tariff surcharge between 10 to 15 percent on textile imports. This mainly affected imports from South Korea, Brazil, Argentina and Colombia. This surcharge was applied from 1983 to 1993. The Chilean domestic sector was able to recover, but according to INTECH, since 1991 Chile has been facing unfair competition from Asian countries exporting undervalued products. About two years ago, the Chilean National Customs Service, at the request of INTECH, formed a joint committee to analyze cases of dumping of undervalued products. INTECH has requested the GOC on several occasions to initiate an investigation for safeguard measures. To date, no such measures have been applied. INTECH believes the Chile-China FTA signed in November 2005, and recently ratified by the Chilean Congress, will provide for the implementation and oversight of proper regulation to protect Chilean textile and apparel producers from unfair Chinese competition. The chapter on dispute resolutions and the Regulatory Joint Commission provide mechanisms to channel the industry's claims and concerns. -- Has increased global competition affected local labor conditions by causing employers to reduce wages, seek flexibility from government required minimum wages, or adversely affected union organizing? Except for one company that reduced by 10 percent some of the benefits - not wages - offered to its workers, the industry has not decreased wages. Nor have wages been increased. Wages in the sector have remained the same for the last 5 years, with yearly adjustments for CPI. However other issues such as peso appreciation and the cost of energy could prompt some work force reductions in the industry. That being said, Chilean textile and apparel producers are clearly under pressure. Though employment figures are not broken down to show a decrease in jobs in the sector, anecdotal evidence indicates the sector is rapidly losing jobs. -- Will Chile remain competitive in textile and apparel given more competition? INTECH blames unfair competition from Asia, primarily China, for the declining domestic Chilean textile and apparel industry. Its claims of dumping have not been verified by the Chilean government. While dumping is a possibility, it is more likely that small, inefficient Chilean producers are simply unable to compete with cheaper imports from Asia. High energy costs, a strong peso and inflexible labor laws likely are further disadvantages for Chile's producers. URBAN