1. The product
Textiles and apparel.
2. The relevant chapters
Chapters 50 to 63.
3. The rules
Yarn and fabric
Chapter-level or heading-level tariff change, depending on the product.
Apparel
Usually a change from fabric to garment, which means the fabric’s heading differs from the garment’s.
The fibre-forward rule
Some products require the change to begin at the fibre stage, which is stricter than a fabric-to-garment change.
4. Why textiles are politically sensitive
Because the sector is labour-intensive and heavily protected in many importing economies.
The origin rules are correspondingly specific.
5. The data challenge
Fibre content, by weight, for every product.
Test reports or supplier declarations establishing it.
6. A scenario
An exporter of knitted apparel bought fabric from a supplier who imported it from a third country, and cut and sewed the garments in China.
Under the product-specific rule, the change from fabric to garment was sufficient, and the goods qualified.
For another product line, the rule required a change from fibre, which the imported fabric could not satisfy.
7. The lesson
Textile origin rules are not uniform across the chapter.
The product-specific rule for the specific tariff line decides.
8. What to check
The exact rule for the product’s tariff line.
The stage at which the change has to occur.
The evidence of fibre content.
9. Closing view
Textiles reward precision.
The rule for a knitted shirt is not the rule for a woven shirt, and neither is the rule for a fabric.
*This article is based on the product-specific rules of RCEP and China’s bilateral free trade agreements.*