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The Impact of Covid-19 on Manufacturers and Workers at the Bottom of Garment Global Supply Chains Mark Anner Professor & Director Center for Global Workers’ Rights Penn State University FMM 24 th annual conference: The Corona Crisis: Macroeconomic Implications and Policies for Sustainable Recovery 30 October 2020.
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Mark Anner Professor & Director Penn State University

Mar 25, 2022

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Page 1: Mark Anner Professor & Director Penn State University

The Impact of Covid-19 on

Manufacturers and Workers

at the Bottom of Garment

Global Supply Chains

Mark AnnerProfessor & Director

Center for Global Workers’ RightsPenn State University

FMM 24th annual conference: The Corona Crisis: Macroeconomic Implications and Policies for

Sustainable Recovery

30 October 2020.

Page 2: Mark Anner Professor & Director Penn State University

Overview

I: The pre-Covid global supply chain squeeze: causes and consequences.

II: March 2020 buyer response to Covid and lockdowns: cancellations.

III: Current Crisis: Declining orders, squeeze on prices, uncertainty.

IV: Building more sustainable GSCs: public and social governance.

Page 3: Mark Anner Professor & Director Penn State University

I: The Pre-Covid Global Supply Chain Squeeze

Page 4: Mark Anner Professor & Director Penn State University

Buyer Consolidation and Purchasing Mobility

Growth & Dispersion of Supplier Base

Buyer Leverage over Suppliers

Price Squeeze Other Sourcing Squeezes

Wage Squeeze

Work Intensity

Building Safety

Environment Squeeze

Taxes for Social Protection, etc.

Governments Trade Rules; Financial Deregulations; Development Policies; Labor Markets.

Workers’ Rights, FoA

Pre-Covid Supply Chain Situation

Page 5: Mark Anner Professor & Director Penn State University

2.5

2.7

2.9

3.1

3.3

3.5

3.7

3.91

990

199

11

992

199

31

994

199

51

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199

71

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92

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200

12

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92

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201

12

012

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014

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52

016

201

7YT

D_

Jun

/20

18

Source: OTEXA

US Apparel Imports, USD/Square Meter

Page 6: Mark Anner Professor & Director Penn State University

2.5

2.7

2.9

3.1

3.3

3.5

3.7

3.91

990

199

11

992

199

31

994

199

51

996

199

71

998

199

92

000

200

12

002

200

32

004

200

52

006

200

72

008

200

92

010

201

12

012

201

32

014

201

52

016

201

7YT

D_

Jun

/20

18

Source: OTEXA

US Apparel Imports, USD/Square Meter

Phase out, MFA

Page 7: Mark Anner Professor & Director Penn State University

2.5

2.7

2.9

3.1

3.3

3.5

3.7

3.91

990

199

11

992

199

31

994

199

51

996

199

71

998

199

92

000

200

12

002

200

32

004

200

52

006

200

72

008

200

92

010

201

12

012

201

32

014

201

52

016

201

7YT

D_

Jun

/20

18

Source: OTEXA

US Apparel Imports, USD/Square Meter

Phase out, MFA

China, WTO

Page 8: Mark Anner Professor & Director Penn State University

2.5

2.7

2.9

3.1

3.3

3.5

3.7

3.91

990

199

11

992

199

31

994

199

51

996

199

71

998

199

92

000

200

12

002

200

32

004

200

52

006

200

72

008

200

92

010

201

12

012

201

32

014

201

52

016

201

7YT

D_

Jun

/20

18

Source: OTEXA

US Apparel Imports, USD/Square Meter

Phase out, MFA

China, WTO

Vietnam, WTO

Page 9: Mark Anner Professor & Director Penn State University

2.5

2.7

2.9

3.1

3.3

3.5

3.7

3.91

990

199

11

992

199

31

994

199

51

996

199

71

998

199

92

000

200

12

002

200

32

004

200

52

006

200

72

008

200

92

010

201

12

012

201

32

014

201

52

016

201

7YT

D_

Jun

/20

18

Source: OTEXA

US Apparel Imports, USD/Square Meter

Phase out, MFA

China, WTO

Vietnam, WTO

Spike, Cotton

Page 10: Mark Anner Professor & Director Penn State University

2.5

2.7

2.9

3.1

3.3

3.5

3.7

3.91

990

199

11

992

199

31

994

199

51

996

199

71

998

199

92

000

200

12

002

200

32

004

200

52

006

200

72

008

200

92

010

201

12

012

201

32

014

201

52

016

201

7YT

D_

Jun

/20

18

Source: OTEXA

US Apparel Imports, USD/Square Meter

Phase out, MFA

China, WTO

Vietnam, WTO

Spike, Cotton

Shift from Assembly (CMT) to Full-Package Producution

Period of economic upgrading

Page 11: Mark Anner Professor & Director Penn State University

As prices decline, respect for workers’ rights declines

Page 12: Mark Anner Professor & Director Penn State University

14%

24%16%

20%16%

32%

47%

23%14%

19%

36%

23% 22%

32%

43%

29%

PrevailingWageasaPercentofLivingWages2001 2011

Impact on Wages

Page 13: Mark Anner Professor & Director Penn State University

Impact on Work Intensity• Hourly worker production targets.

• Going from 60, to 80, to 100 operations per hour.

• Verbal abuses: 64% of workers say they are yelled at for not meeting production targets.

Page 14: Mark Anner Professor & Director Penn State University

II: The March ‘20 Buyer Response to Covid and Lockdowns: Abrupt cancellations

Page 15: Mark Anner Professor & Director Penn State University

After Cancellations, Buyer Pay for Raw Material Costs?

After Cancellations, Buyers Pay for Production Costs?

March 2020 survey findings, Bangladesh

Page 16: Mark Anner Professor & Director Penn State University

After Cancellations, Buyers Help with Furlough Worker Pay? Costs?

After Cancellations, Buyers Help with Severance Costs?

Page 17: Mark Anner Professor & Director Penn State University

Impact on Supplier Ability to Pay Workers

1 million workers adversely affected in Bangladesh

Page 18: Mark Anner Professor & Director Penn State University

Impact of #payup

campaign

• Of USD 40 billion in canceled orders,• now, at least

USD 22 billion paid up globally.

Page 19: Mark Anner Professor & Director Penn State University

Part III:

The Current Crisis: Declining orders, squeeze on prices, uncertainty.

Page 20: Mark Anner Professor & Director Penn State University
Page 21: Mark Anner Professor & Director Penn State University
Page 22: Mark Anner Professor & Director Penn State University

Average payment terms: Before: 43 days. Now: 77 days.

Page 23: Mark Anner Professor & Director Penn State University
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Part IV:

The future of garment global supply chains?

Page 27: Mark Anner Professor & Director Penn State University

The pessimistic view of the

future

• Buyers consolidate: Amazon, Walmart gain market share and control over access to the market, while others going into bankruptcy (JC Penney, Sears, etc.)

• As consumer demand stays flat, supplier competition for limited orders escalates, increasing the squeeze on price and crisis of overcapacity.

• Workers face the greatest consequences: loss of hours of work, loss of job stability (shift to temporary contracts), loss of jobs.

• State public resources remain squeezed (drop in economic activity; tax exempt/low tax export promotion) àless resources for social protection.

Page 28: Mark Anner Professor & Director Penn State University

View of Brand CEO on the Future

Page 29: Mark Anner Professor & Director Penn State University

Possible winners among

suppliers

Winner, large suppliers Bangladesh & Vietnam.• Pick up orders leaving China.• Pick up order from SMEs that are going out of

business.

Winners, push for greater speed to market. • Nearshoring countries: Turkey for Europe.• Latin America for the US?

Problem: Leaves many losers, especially among the 35 million garment workers (10%-35%)

Page 30: Mark Anner Professor & Director Penn State University

The Challenge

• In labor surplus economies --in the absence of strong, binding public governance and social governance-- the gains from economic upgrading will accrue to those at the top of garment global supply chains (e.g., brands, retailers, investors).

• What kinds of public and social governance mechanisms are needed?

Page 31: Mark Anner Professor & Director Penn State University

Public Governance

• Producer country public governance: labor laws & enforcement, social protection, industrial policy, tax regimes, etc.

• Consumer country public governance: bilateral trade agreements; binding due diligence laws; regulation of financial markets.

• International: multilateral trade regimes, development policies, international standards, enforcement of purchasing contracts.

Page 32: Mark Anner Professor & Director Penn State University

Social governance

• Trade union representation (now only 2% in some garment exporting countries).

• Industry-wide, encompassing collective bargaining (taking wages out of competition).

• International trade union coordination(addressing country level competition).

• Transnational binding agreements with labor co-governance (e.g., the Bangladesh Accord).

Page 33: Mark Anner Professor & Director Penn State University

Thank you.