Upgrading and restructuring in the global apparel value chain: Why China and Asia are outperforming Mexico and Central America
Abstract
This article uses the global value chain approach to analyse the upgrading trajectories
of leading apparel exporters adapting to the end of textile and apparel quotas and
the economic recession. These events have been coupled by the consolidation and reconfiguration
of global supply chains. China has been the big winner while other Asian suppliers
are expanding their roles, largely at the expense of regional suppliers. One key to
Asia's competitive success vis-à-vis Mexico and Central America has been end market
diversification. Regional trade agreements (NAFTA; DR-CAFTA) have provided the latter
with preferential access to the US market and ties to brand manufacturers, but they
also created a reliance on US exports and have hindered suppliers from developing
regional linkages into textile production, apparel design and branding. Growing apparel
demand in emerging Asian economies and a regionally integrated production network
has allowed Chinese apparel suppliers to upgrade and expand global market share. Copyright
© 2011 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.
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https://hdl.handle.net/10161/10701Published Version (Please cite this version)
10.1504/IJTLID.2011.041900Publication Info
Frederick, Stacey; & Gereffi, Gary (2011). Upgrading and restructuring in the global apparel value chain: Why China and Asia
are outperforming Mexico and Central America. International Journal of Technological Learning, Innovation and Development, 4(1-3). pp. 67-95. 10.1504/IJTLID.2011.041900. Retrieved from https://hdl.handle.net/10161/10701.This is constructed from limited available data and may be imprecise. To cite this
article, please review & use the official citation provided by the journal.
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Show full item recordScholars@Duke
Gary Gereffi
Professor Emeritus of Sociology
Gary Gereffi is Emeritus Professor of Sociology and Director of the Global Value Chains
Center at Duke University (https://gvcc.duke.edu/). He has published over a dozen
books and numerous articles on globalization, industrial upgrading, and social and
economic development, and he is one of the originators of the global value chains
framework. His most recent books are: <a href="https://www.elgaronline.com/view/edcoll/

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