Fashion
New US port-fee regime targeting China fails to achieve targets: AAFA
The stated objective of this new port-fee-regime is to address unfair practices that led to China’s dominance in global shipbuilding and strengthen the US shipbuilding industry. China produced 53 per cent of the world’s ships in 2024.
As the US unveiled a new port fee regime targeting China, AAFA said these fees “fail to achieve their stated objectives”.
These fees are set to rise each April, raising the risk that the costs will turn too high for some carriers and begin to be passed along to shippers.
Carriers have deployed non-Chinese-built ships on US routes, while continuing to expand orders at Chinese shipyards, it noted.
These fees are set to increase each April, raising the risk that the costs will become too high for some carriers to absorb and begin to be passed along to shippers, AAFA noted.
“Rather than reducing reliance on Chinese shipbuilding, carriers have simply reshuffled their fleets by deploying non-Chinese-built ships on US routes, while continuing to expand orders at Chinese shipyards. China’s global market share in shipbuilding continues to rise, climbing above 65 per cent in June and reaching 84 per cent in August,” said AAFA executive vice president Nate Herman said in a release.
“At the same time, Chinese carriers are shifting calls from US ports to Canada and Mexico to maintain North American service while avoiding the fees. This diverts business away from US ports and reduces work opportunities for American longshoremen,” he added.
“We urge the Trump administration to reconsider this policy. Instead of imposing punitive port fees that create inefficiencies and divert business away from US ports, the focus should be on creating strong domestic incentives and providing sustained support to revitalise American shipbuilding,” said AAFA trade and transportation specialist Audrey Clark.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
By
AFP
Published
October 21, 2025
A Chinese woman has been arrested and charged over the theft of gold from the Natural History Museum in Paris, in one of several recent high-profile break-ins targeting French cultural institutions, a prosecutor said Tuesday.
The theft — by what the museum’s director at the time said was an “extremely professional team”- took place on September 16, a little over a month before an audacious jewellery heist at the world-famous Louvre museum on Sunday.
A 24-year-old Chinese woman was arrested in Barcelona on September 30 over the Natural History Museum break-in and theft of gold worth more than $1 million, Paris prosecutor Laure Beccuau said.
The suspect was handed over to French authorities on October 13 and was charged with theft and criminal conspiracy and put in provisional detention the same day.
Investigations showed she had left France the day of the break-in and was preparing to return to China. At the time of her arrest, she was trying to dispose of nearly one kilogram (2.2 pounds) of melted gold pieces, the prosecutor said, without providing more details.
The Natural History Museum curator discovered the theft of exhibited gold nuggets after a cleaner reported debris on site. The stolen items included nuggets from Bolivia donated in the 18th century, from Russia’s Ural region gifted by Tsar Nicholas I in 1833, and from California dating to the gold rush era.
A five-kilogramme nugget from Australia discovered in 1990 was also taken, Beccuau said. Nearly six kilograms of native gold was stolen, with damages estimated at 1.5 million euros ($1.7 million), she added, noting that the historical and scientific value of the pieces was “priceless”.
Native gold is a metal alloy containing gold and silver in their natural, unrefined form.
Investigators found two museum doors had been cut with a grinder and the display case breached using a blowtorch. Tools including a blowtorch, grinder, screwdriver, gas cylinders and saws were recovered nearby.
Surveillance footage showed a lone intruder entering the museum shortly after 1:00 am and leaving around 4:00 am, according to Beccuau. The investigation is ongoing, she added.
Police are also still on the hunt for thieves who stole priceless royal jewels from the Louvre museum in a spectacular daylight robbery on Sunday. The heist has reignited a row over a lack of security in France’s museums.
Copyright © 2025 AFP. All rights reserved. All information displayed in this section (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the contents of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presses.
Published
October 21, 2025
Grace Wales Bonner has been a rising star for some time and now she’s really hit the big time with news on Tuesday that she’s the new creative director of menswear at French luxury house Hermès.
It will be a while before we see her full impact on Hermès though. The 35-year-old menswear specialist who launched her own label in 2014, won’t show her first collection for the ultra-luxury label until January 2027.
The UK-based designer, who has a collaboration with Adidas, will also continue with her own label.
She’s succeeding the top flight’s longest-standing creative chief with Véronique Nichanian stepping down from the brand after a tenure of 37 years.
Nichanian’s final show will be this January and the label won’t show its SS27 collection (which will be created by the studio) at the runway event in June 2026.
Pierre-Alexis Dumas, general artistic director of Hermès, said of its new menswear creative chief: “I am really pleased to welcome Grace to the Hermès artistic director family. Her take on contemporary fashion, craft and culture will contribute to shaping Hermès men’s style, melding the house’s heritage with a confident look on the now. Grace’s appetite and curiosity for artistic practice strongly resonate with Hermès’s creative mindset and approach. We are at the start of an enriching mutual dialogue.”
She in her turn said she was “honoured” and that the role is a “dream”.
As mentioned, Wales Bonner has been a rising star for some time and was tipped to eventually land at the design helm of one of the industry’s major labels.
The English-Jamaican designer was trained at Central Saint Martins and set up her namesake label as soon as she graduated, initially focusing on menswear but introducing womenswear in 2018.
Big-league awards have been coming thick and fast including the emerging menswear designer title at the British Fashion Awards (2015), the LVMH Young Designer Prize (2016) and the CFDA International Men’s Designer of the Year (2021).
She’s also dressed A-list celebrities including Lewis Hamilton and FKA Twigs.
But the Hermès job is undeniably her biggest role yet. And while running a category at any major house is always a challenge, she’s arriving at a time when ready-to-wear is on an upswing for the brand with sales rising strongly.
Copyright © 2025 FashionNetwork.com All rights reserved.
Published
October 21, 2025
The Indian e-commerce market is set to cross the $200 billion mark in 2025, growing at a rate of 12.5% as consumer appetite for online purchases and trust in digital payments increases, according to a new forecast by GlobalData.
“The e-commerce market in India has experienced rapid growth in recent years, driven by broader digital adoption, increasing internet and smartphone penetration, and the availability of secure online payment tools,” said GlobalData senior banking and payments analyst Poornima Chinta in a press release. “The growing popularity of online shopping events such as Flipkart’s Big Billion Days, Myntra’s Big Fashion Festival, and Amazon’s Great Indian Festival has further supported the surge in India’s online shopping market.”
GlobalData forecasts that the Indian e-commerce market will reach Rs 17.7 trillion ($211.6 billion) this calendar year. With a projected compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 11.5% between 2025 and 2029, the market could reach Rs 27.3 trillion ($326.7 billion) in 2029.
Factors which are contributing to sustained Indian e-commerce growth include government-led policy support, increasing digital integration in retail, and rising adoption of AI driven payment options. The Indian government rolled out Goods and Services Tax rate cuts on September 22, applying to sectors including fashion and wellness goods, and large businesses including Reliance Retail and Flipkart announced their participation in the 100-day ‘GST Bachat Utsav,’ highlighting GST discounts to promote consumer spending.
“India’s ecommerce market will continue its upward growth trajectory over the next few years with consumer appetite for online shopping showing no signs of waning,” said Chinta. “The country’s young, upwardly mobile demographic, growing popularity of alternative payment solutions, favourable regulatory initiatives, and technological advancements are converging to transform how Indians shop- creating new market opportunities, improving customer experiences, and attracting fresh investment.”
Copyright © 2025 FashionNetwork.com All rights reserved.
Donald Trump tariffs: US 40% trans-shipment levy intended for China could end up hitting Asean supply chains including India; Moody’s flags risks – The Times of India
John Grisham unveils his first-ever mystery, “The Widow”
Takaichi elected Japan’s premier, shattering glass ceiling with hard-right turn
-
Tech1 week agoUK police to upgrade illicit asset recovery system | Computer Weekly
-
Tech5 days agoWhy the F5 Hack Created an ‘Imminent Threat’ for Thousands of Networks
-
Tech6 days agoWhat Is Google One, and Should You Subscribe?
-
Entertainment1 week agoVictoria Beckham thinks Brooklyn Beckham is fed up with Nicola Peltz drama?
-
Tech1 week agoMassive UK dieselgate lawsuit reaches court
-
Fashion1 week agoUS brand Ralph Lauren reports 2025 sustainability progress
-
Tech2 days agoHow to Protect Yourself Against Getting Locked Out of Your Cloud Accounts
-
Tech1 week agoWhen does it pay for housing associations to replace water and sewage pipes?