By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
DailynewsegyptDailynewsegypt
  • Home
  • Business
    BusinessShow More
    German ambassador to Cairo calls for more privatisation of public companies
    German ambassador to Cairo calls for more privatisation of public companies
    June 7, 2023
    $513m increase in Egypt’s foreign-exchange reserves to $26.686bn in May 2023
    $513m increase in Egypt’s foreign-exchange reserves to $26.686bn in May 2023
    June 7, 2023
    Qatar Investment Authority wants to fully acquire Telecom Egypt’s stake in Vodafone Egypt via subsidiary: Sources
    Qatar Investment Authority wants to fully acquire Telecom Egypt’s stake in Vodafone Egypt via subsidiary: Sources
    June 7, 2023
    7th annual Capital Markets Summit to be launched on 20 June
    7th annual Capital Markets Summit to be launched on 20 June
    June 7, 2023
    CBE receives 21 offers worth $644.1m to cover dollar-denominated T-bill issuance
    CBE receives 21 offers worth $644.1m to cover dollar-denominated T-bill issuance
    June 7, 2023
  • Politics
    PoliticsShow More
    Egypt’s Al-Sisi starts African tour to Angola, Zambia, and Mozambique
    Egypt’s Al-Sisi starts African tour to Angola, Zambia, and Mozambique
    June 7, 2023
    Egypt, Serbia hold round of consultations to discuss strengthening bilateral relations
    Egypt, Serbia hold round of consultations to discuss strengthening bilateral relations
    June 7, 2023
    All civilians in Sudan are in danger: UN High Commissioner for Refugees
    All civilians in Sudan are in danger: UN High Commissioner for Refugees
    June 7, 2023
    Arab League calls on Security Council to shoulder its responsibilities, oblige Israel to end occupation
    Arab League calls on Security Council to shoulder its responsibilities, oblige Israel to end occupation
    June 5, 2023
    Institute of Diplomatic Studies holds training course for diplomats from South Sudan
    Institute of Diplomatic Studies holds training course for diplomats from South Sudan
    June 5, 2023
  • Interviews
    InterviewsShow More
    EFG Finance to launch unified platform gathering all its financing services: Alaa Al-Afifi
    EFG Finance to launch unified platform gathering all its financing services: Alaa Al-Afifi
    May 31, 2023
    I changed my artistic path to create ‘state of wonder’: Tarek Lotfi
    I changed my artistic path to create ‘state of wonder’: Tarek Lotfi
    May 25, 2023
    I adore Ramadan drama, ‘Telt Al-Talata’ series achieved great success: Ghada Abdel Razek
    I adore Ramadan drama, ‘Telt Al-Talata’ series achieved great success: Ghada Abdel Razek
    May 8, 2023
    We aim to establish Egypt as nearshore centre for Software AG for MET region: Rami Kichli
    We aim to establish Egypt as nearshore centre for Software AG for MET region: Rami Kichli
    April 29, 2023
    Egypt-Spain relations witness remarkable development in recent years: Spanish ambassador in Cairo
    Egypt-Spain relations witness remarkable development in recent years: Spanish ambassador in Cairo
    April 18, 2023
  • Culture
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Lifestyle
Reading: Africa needs unified regulations against cheap Chinese imports
Share
Notification
Latest News
Chimpanzees' communication development echoes human infants
Chimpanzees’ communication development echoes human infants
Science
Does multimorbidity impact chronic disease treatment?
Does multimorbidity impact chronic disease treatment?
Science
German ambassador to Cairo calls for more privatisation of public companies
German ambassador to Cairo calls for more privatisation of public companies
Business
$513m increase in Egypt’s foreign-exchange reserves to $26.686bn in May 2023
$513m increase in Egypt’s foreign-exchange reserves to $26.686bn in May 2023
Business
Egypt’s Al-Sisi starts African tour to Angola, Zambia, and Mozambique
Egypt’s Al-Sisi starts African tour to Angola, Zambia, and Mozambique
Egypt Politics
Aa
Aa
DailynewsegyptDailynewsegypt
  • Home
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Interviews
  • Culture
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Lifestyle
  • Home
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Interviews
  • Culture
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Lifestyle
Have an existing account? Sign In
Follow US
  • Advertise
© 2023 DNE News. All Rights Reserved.
Dailynewsegypt > Blog > World > Africa needs unified regulations against cheap Chinese imports
World

Africa needs unified regulations against cheap Chinese imports

Deutsche Welle
Last updated: 2018/05/31 at 12:50 AM
By Deutsche Welle 9 Min Read
Share
SHARE

African markets are full of cheap bootleg Chinese versions of their textiles. As China comes under US pressure to respect laws on intellectual property rights, should Africa also take a stand?I walked into a dusty wooden booth known in Sierra Leone as a ’boutique’ to shop for fresh clothes. The airline hadn’t delivered my luggage on my flight from Germany and I had been wearing the same clothes for days.

When I left the boutique, I had a brand new pair of Armani jeans, D&G shorts and some Lacoste shirts. The items cost me about 500,000 Leones (€50, $58). In Sierra Leone, this is a form of cheap luxury for the middle-class. But for the EU or US, it’s a result of China’s gross violation of intellectual property and patent laws.

Read also: Kenyans are saying ‘Ni Hao’ as Chinese language learning booms

China is facing hefty fines in the United States. In April, US President Donald Trump unveiled a list of over 1,000 Chinese products to be hit with 25 percent tariffs worth $50 billion. The Trump administration said this was punishment for Beijing’s policy of forcing American companies to give up their intellectual property rights in order to do business with China.

China struck back with its own list targeting US exports worth the same amount. Economic experts dubbed this spat a “trade war.” Whatever the outcome of this political brouhaha between the world’s two largest economies, the African continent is bound to feel the effects.

Chinese contraband on African markets

In the grid of “boutiques” along the main road of Koidu, a town in eastern Sierra Leone, Chinese bootlegged ‘designer’ clothes are all there is for the residents of the diamond-rich region. The only other choice comes in the form of used clothes from Europe and the US – an option which many African countries are growing more critical of.

“This is original GA,” the boutique trader told me as I tried on the supposed Giorgio Armani (or GA) jeans. Original indeed! Between this pair of jeans and one costing €200 in a German store, the only difference I could see were the shop’s flashing blue neon lights and 50 Cent’s In da Club blaring out of loudspeakers in the background.

Counterfeit Chinese-made textiles in Africa have improved so much so that if there is any difference between the original and the fake, a layman’s eyes such as mine can’t see it.

Eric Olander, co-founder of the China Africa Project, an organization based in South Africa, thinks it is too simple to say that Chinese firms are simply taking advantage of African governments.

“Both China and each of the African countries it engages with are working to maximize their own national interests and it becomes incredibly difficult to determine what is fair,” Olander told me.

The supply of cheap Chinese counterfeit items has grown so voluminous that the counterfeiters’ Clavin Klein brand inadvertently became more of a household name in Sierra Leone than actual Calvin Klein products. Instead of Samsung, your phone comes from Samsong and the radios are from Sunny instead of Sony.

Many analysts believe that Beijing uses EU and US intellectual property to mass produce cheap goods and dump them onto African markets. But “Africa is not unique in that regard,” argued Olander. “China does exactly the same thing in the USA, Asia, and the Middle East.”

I should add here that when I refer to “China,” I do not only mean the Chinese government, but also small to medium-sized private firms and multinational corporations.

Africa’s ‘free-for-all’ intellectual property rights

So who is responsible for copyright violations in Africa?

“There are a few complicating factors” in the Sino-African relationship, according to Cobus van Staden of the South African Institute of International Affairs. Van Staden is the co-founder of the China Africa Project, along with Eric Olander.

“There are high level products and low level products all coming out of China. But the most important thing is that Africans have been very active in funneling Chinese-made products to Africa,” said van Staden, who hosts a regular podcast on Africa-China relations.

A large group of Africans in China act as middlemen for legitimate as well as illegitimate African traders.

But van Staden believes Chinese authorities are starting to take the issue more seriously. “Reports in the past are about counterfeit products coming in, but I think the Chinese government has been implementing new screening procedures.”

Read also:Opinion: China’s Africa policy deserves applause

Unified Africa regulations against Chinese influence

From electronic gadgets to stationery, from providing cheap skilled labor to exporting natural resources, China has Africa covered.

“Interestingly, all kinds of school uniforms find their way here,” said Ismail Bello, deputy secretary general of the National Union of Textile, Garment and Tailoring Workers of Nigeria. China’s labor force is equipped with the know-how similar to most European nations. So arguably, it is cheaper for a primary school in Nigeria to import uniforms from China than to buy them from a local garment industry.

“The Nigerian textile and garment industry is at its lowest ebb,” Bello said. “In the 1960s, 70s and 80s, this industry thrived to an extent that it exported to the West African region, occasionally to East Africa. With the liberalization of the textile market in the 1990s and the influx of Chinese textiles, the industry began to decline.”

“Local producers possibly have less than 15 percent of the market shares. It has resulted in several closures and loss of jobs over the years,” Bello said.

In the 1980’s, Nigeria’s garment industry employed about 500,000 people. Currently, only about 15,000 work in the industry, according to the union.

So what’s the solution? Regulations! “I do think that having a stronger unified regulatory kind of apparatus to protect African intellectual property is really important,” said van Staden.

But would China respect a unified African regulatory apparatus like the African Continental Free Trade Agreement – a proposed version of the agreement was sind in March 2018 by 44 out of 55 African Union member states. If ratified, the pact would lay down rules of trade for the entire African continent.

According to van Staden, Chinese firms might actually adhere to such rules. “Botswana and South Africa have complex regulatory framework and Chinese companies tend to work according to local laws,” van Staden argued.

The relationship between the African continent and China is complex. It has its positive and negative sides.

Eric Olander explains: “I can tell you that China is the worst thing that ever happened to Africa and list all of the horrors committed over the past ten years. I would be correct in every point.”

“I can also tell you that China is the best thing that has ever happened to Africa and, again, I would be correct in every point. This is not a binary relationship,” Olander said.

You Might Also Like

Egypt, Serbia hold round of consultations to discuss strengthening bilateral relations

Iran hopes to promote ties with Belgium, Europe: FM

Türkiye’s re-elected Erdogan announces major reshuffle in new cabinet

India’s deadly train accident due to changes in electronic interlocking system: Minister

FM Shoukry attends inauguration ceremony of Turkish President

TAGGED: Chinese imports
Share this Article
Facebook Twitter Email Print
Previous Article DW’s Health News: Diagnosing breast cancer sooner
Next Article Works of art made with plastic trash
Leave a comment

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Ad image
Ad image

Stay Connected

Facebook Like
Twitter Follow
Instagram Follow
Youtube Subscribe

Latest News

Chimpanzees' communication development echoes human infants
Chimpanzees’ communication development echoes human infants
Science
Does multimorbidity impact chronic disease treatment?
Does multimorbidity impact chronic disease treatment?
Science
German ambassador to Cairo calls for more privatisation of public companies
German ambassador to Cairo calls for more privatisation of public companies
Business
$513m increase in Egypt’s foreign-exchange reserves to $26.686bn in May 2023
$513m increase in Egypt’s foreign-exchange reserves to $26.686bn in May 2023
Business
//
Egypt’s only independent daily newspaper in English. Discuss the country’s latest with the paper’s reporters, editors, and other readers.

Quick Link

  • Home
  • Business
  • Politics
  • Interviews
  • Culture
  • Opinion
  • Sports
  • Lifestyle

Sign Up for Our Newsletter

Subscribe to our newsletter to get our newest articles instantly!

© 2023 DNE News. All Rights Reserved.

Join Us!

Subscribe to our newsletter and never miss our latest news, podcasts etc..

Zero spam, Unsubscribe at any time.

Removed from reading list

Undo
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Lost your password?