Tiếng Việt
Vietnam is the world’s 2nd largest garment exporter. Good quality, competitive production costs, and with CPTPP, 0% import tariff into Canada. But importing garments isn’t as straightforward as furniture or seafood — there are specific rules you need to understand before placing your first order.
Why Vietnamese Garments Appeal to Canadian Importers
Three main reasons: consistent quality with large production capacity; labor and manufacturing costs 15–25% lower than China; and crucially — with CPTPP, the import tariff into Canada is 0% instead of 16–18% MFN. A $200,000 CAD annual garment order can save $32,000–36,000 CAD in tariffs — enough to cover a full year of logistics costs.
The Special Rule for Garments: Yarn Forward
This is the biggest differentiator from other product categories in CPTPP. While furniture only needs to meet RVC 40%, garments require the “Yarn Forward” rule — the entire process from spinning yarn, weaving fabric, dyeing, to finished garment must occur within the CPTPP bloc.
This means: if the Vietnamese factory uses fabric imported from China (not a CPTPP member), the finished product doesn’t qualify for 0% CPTPP — even if all sewing was done in Vietnam.
Solution: ask your Vietnamese supplier about fabric origin. Fabric from Japan, Malaysia (CPTPP members) or fabric woven in Vietnam all qualify. Vietnam’s domestic textile sector is rapidly expanding to meet this demand.
Canada Bilingual Labelling — Don’t Overlook This
Canada requires care instructions and fibre content labels in both English and French under the Textile Labelling and Advertising Regulations. This is the most common mistake causing goods to be held at the port or recalled from shelves. Provide your factory with a standard EN/FR bilingual label template before production — adjusting labels in Vietnam is far cheaper than re-labelling after arrival in Canada.
Ready to import textiles from Vietnam?
Get an all-in quote + specific CPTPP guidance for your product type — free, in 4 hours
Get a Quote Now →The actual timeline from ordering to receiving your order at GTA.
- Weeks 1–2: Confirm supplier, samples, and contract
- Weeks 3–6: Production (depending on volume)
- Week 7: QA inspection + preparation of export documents + C/O Form VN
- Weeks 8–9: Packing, export, and loading onto the ship at HCM or Hai Phong port
- Weeks 11–13: Sea transit (20–35 days)
- Weeks 13–14: CBSA customs clearance + GTA delivery
Total: approximately 12–14 weeks from order placement to delivery. Plan early, especially for Christmas or Back-to-School orders — shipments need to be made at least 16 weeks in advance.
