The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, signed by 12 participating economies on Oct 5, recently raised concerns in Nantong, Jiangsu province, about its influence on the city's textile and clothing industries.

Under the agreement, tariffs on industrial goods among member countries will be eliminated. This provision may intensify the competition in the low-tech textile and clothing industries among those countries.

Textile and clothing exports accounted for nearly one third of Nantong's foreign trade, totaling 3.04 billion yuan ($479 million), in the first half of 2015. Local authorities said they were concerned that the city's 1,200 textile companies and 370 clothing ones would suffer from the elimination of tariffs.

They suggested that those companies should focus on innovation and look for ways to improve their manufacturing techniques without increasing production costs if they want to survive in the new competitive environment.