Import/Export

IMPORT & EXPORT

How Sourcing Managers Are Re-examining Vietnam After the Demise of a Free-Trade Agreement

By Deborah Belgum | August 24, 2017

Six or seven years ago, Steve DiBlasi of Lanier Clothes decided to shift a fair amount of his company’s apparel production from China to Vietnam.

West Coast Longshore Workers to Vote on Three-Year Contract Extension

With political and economic change in the wind, longshore workers have agreed to vote on a three-year extension of their current contract expiring July 1, 2019.

U.S. Cargo-Container Imports to Rise Steadily This Year

With retail sales predicted to inch up around 4 percent this year, cargo container traffic should also see healthy growth this year.

Apparel Manufacturers, Textile Makers Take on Administration’s Hot-Button Issues

Julie Hughes, president of the U.S. Fashion Industry Association, and Augustine Tantillo, president and chief executive officer of the National Council of Textile Organizations, discussed their group members’ view on everything from a proposed border tax on goods coming from Mexico to the fate of the Trans-Pacific Partnership at a recent live webcast.

Yarns and Viscose Rayon Fibers Get Tangled in EU-U.S. Tariff Fight

A trade war over Europe limiting U.S. beef imports led the Obama administration last year to propose a set of retaliatory tariffs on mostly food-related goods coming from Europe.

Trump Nominates Conservative Attorney to Become U.S. Trade Representative

President-elect Donald Trump has nominated Robert Lighthizer to become the new U.S. trade representative in charge of the country’s trade policy.

Port of Long Beach Approves Swiss-based Shipping Line Taking Over Hanjin Shipping’s Terminal Lease

For years, Hanjin Shipping Co. was a major customer at the Port of Long Beach, accounting for 12 percent of the cargo containers that came through the Southern California terminus last year.

2016 Retrospective: U.S. Clothing Production in China Is Slipping

Fewer clothes were imported from China this year than last year as manufacturers headed to lower-wage countries such as Vietnam, India and Bangladesh to do more of their production.

2016 Newsmakers: It’s Taps for the TPP Free-Trade Agreement

The Trans-Pacific Partnership, a free-trade accord between the United States and 11 other Pacific Rim countries, was poised to be approved this year by the U.S. Congress. But election-year politics put an official end to that as both presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump made it known they would not back the trade pact.

2016 Newsmakers: Hanjin Bankruptcy Sinks a Lot of Importer’s Revenue Goals

Los Angeles clothing importers were hit hard this year when Hanjin Shipping Co. filed for bankruptcy in South Korea on Aug. 31. The bankruptcy left several Hanjin vessels drifting at sea while the shipping line came up with funds to dock at global ports and terminals.

The People, Companies and Ideas that Made News in 2016

From high-profile bankruptcies in manufacturing, shipping and e-commerce to million-dollar development projects across the Southland, 2016 was a year of stark contrasts for the apparel industry.

How Would the End of NAFTA Affect the LA Apparel Industry?

Ever since the presidential elections ended, people such as Daniel Barcenas have been fielding calls from Mexican apparel companies asking what is going to happen to free trade under a Trump administration.

Ship at Port of Long Beach Picking Up Empty Hanjin Cargo Containers

With some 6,000 Hanjin-leased cargo containers sitting empty in the wake of the Hanjin Shipping bankruptcy, the result is that some 6,000 chassis attached to the containers are not circulating throughout the ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles and stalling pickup times and deliveries.