Clothing and textiles manufacturing play a vital role in Colombia’s economy. The sector accounts for seven percent of exports, a third of which go to the United States.
If the U.S. allows textiles made from local raw materials to be included in a renewed U.S. Andean trade pact, the sector could grow enormously.
To this end, the U.S. Andean Trade Preferences Act, which expired in December, is in the process of being renewed. The House of Representatives in November voted to extend the preferential trade treatment enjoyed by Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia and Peru.

New legislation would provide new duty-free treatment to some apparel products from the four Andean countries. The House of Representatives has voted to extend the pact to textiles made with Andean thread. However, the U.S. Senate Finance Comm-ittee favors allowing trade preferences only to textiles made from U.S. raw materials.
The U.S. hopes that enhanced trade with the Andean nations will foster economic development and turn them away from crops that can be turned into illicit drugs.

A renewed U.S. Andean trade pact, which would run to 2006, would be welcomed by Guillermo Gaviria Correa, governor of Antioquia province, whose capital is Medellin, Colombia’s second city. Medellin is a major industrial center, home to several major textile companies as well as probably Latin America’s biggest conglomerate, Grupo Empresarial Antioqueno (the Sindicato Antioqueno), which employs more than 80,000 people.
Two textile manufacturers hoping to increase their exports this year are Medellin-based Vestimundo and Crystal.

Vestimundo general manager Juan Carlos Echavarria says it is firms that have invested in modern equipment that have become successful exporters. And he recognizes that Asian, South East Asian, Turkish and some African countries such as Mauritius are serious competitors in the global textiles sector.
“What we need is more integration in the national industry, especially in Medellin, where there has traditionally been a textile industry,” he says.
Vestimundo, established 11 years ago, manufactures men’s, women’s and children’s clothes, and employs 4,200 people. The firm’s main export market is the U.S., although it is slowly gaining orders in Europe.

Crystal, a family-owned company founded in 1945, exports about 55 percent of its production, with its target market being the U.S.
Executive vice-president Luis Fernando Restrepo says the company broke into the U.S. market by choosing to work for a U.S. manufacturer, which sold a well-known brand to department stores. “We started with a very expensive product,” says Mr Restrepo. “So we didn’t start at the bottom but very high.”

The firm, which has nine plants, makes underwear for both men and women. It is also making hildren’s clothes for a major European chain.
“Retailers are demanding lower prices from manufacturers every day,” says Mr Restrepo. “This forces European manufacturers to outsource. That’s why I predict big opportunities for Colombia. The labor costs in Europe are very high, whereas in Colombia they are much lower.”