The enforcement of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) in 2019 served to turn Canada into a ‘billion-dollar’ export market for the local textile and garment industry.

Statistics compiled by the International Trade Center (ITC) indicate that domestic textile and garment exports to Canada in 2019 moved past US$1.1 billion for the first time, a rise of 20% compared to 2018.

These figures show that the nation has surpassed Cambodia to rank third in terms of textile and apparel exports to the Canadian market.

Most notably, the trade pact has helped foreign importers turn to place orders from Vietnamese suppliers and provided the country with a comparative advantage over rivals such as Bangladesh and Cambodia, with the nation enjoying tariff reduction of 0% after three years.

Despite a range of adverse impacts caused by the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) last year, Vietnamese textile and garment exports to Canada were still able to maintain robust growth.

Le Tien Truong, vice chairman of Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association (Vitas), said that among CPTPP members, Canada can be considered a market with strong potential moving forward, second only to Japan. Indeed, Canada’s import scale reached up to US$14 billion with Vietnamese garments and textiles, accounting for only 8% of the overall market share.

Experts have therefore advised local firms to meet rules of origin detailed within the CPTPP, with yarn and fabric being purchased from CPTPP member countries as a means of increasing exports to the Canadian market in the near future.