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Message: [QUOTE="Munyaradzi Mafaro, post: 74647, member: 636"] Clothing makers and retailers are begging the government to pump the brakes on a massive tariff hike for imported fabric until researchers finish studying the whole cotton industry situation. Finance officials want to jack up duties from 10 percent to 40 percent plus an extra charge per kilogram, but people running garment factories say local mills cannot pump out enough variety or quality to meet what shoppers actually want to buy. The clothing association boss pointed out that slapping huge taxes on fabric treats it like a finished product when it actually feeds into making clothes, and the retail chain executive warned that this move will just push prices up while smugglers cash in. One agriculture specialist said the government should copy countries that opened up fabric imports to help their clothing sectors compete globally, instead of rushing protective measures before domestic production capacity even exists. [/QUOTE]