NCTO Urges Swift Floor Action on American Manufacturing Competitiveness Act

2016 04 20 NCTO Press Statement on W&M Markup of AMCA

 

April 20, 2016

CONTACT:  Lloyd Wood
(202) 822-8028
lwood@ncto.org

 

PRESS STATEMENT

NCTO Urges Swift Floor Action on American Manufacturing Competitiveness Act

 WASHINGTON, DC – Today, the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means marked up H.R. 4923, the American Manufacturing Competitiveness Act.

Endorsed by the National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO), H.R. 4923 reforms the process by which Congress will consider future Miscellaneous Tariff Bill (MTB) legislation.  Through the MTB, Congress temporarily suspends or reduces tariffs on certain imported products not made in the United States, helping American manufacturers reduce costs, create jobs, and compete in the global marketplace.

“We thank Ways and Means for marking up this measure and call for the bill’s swift consideration on the House floor,” said NCTO President and CEO Augustine Tantillo.

“It is crucial for Congress to move quickly so that the long-stalled MTB process can be restarted,” Tantillo continued.

“The MTB is essential to American competitiveness,” Tantillo added.  “U.S. textile manufacturers reinvest the duty savings to boost jobs and innovation.”

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News from 13th Annual NCTO Annual Meeting Held April 12-14, 2016 in Washington, D.C.

State of the Textile Industry PowerPoint

State of the Textile Industry Speech

 

April 14, 2016

CONTACT:  Lloyd Wood
(202) 822-8028
lwood@ncto.org

PRESS STATEMENT

NCTO Elects New Chairman for 2016


WASHINGTON, D.C. –
Robert H. Chapman III, Chairman, CEO and Treasurer of Inman Mills was elected to serve as Chairman of the National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) for 2016 at the group’s 13th Annual Meeting held April 12-14 at The Capital Hilton hotel located in Washington, D.C.  Inman Mills is a family-owned textile company headquartered in Inman, SC that manufactures yarns and fabrics – www.inmanmills.com.

Elected as NCTO Vice Chairman for 2016 was William V. McCrary Jr., President & CEO of William Barnet and Son LLC.  Barnet is a global fiber, yarn and resin manufacturer.  The company’s head office is located in Spartanburg, South Carolina – www.barnet.com.

2016 State of the Textile Industry Speech and PowerPoint

Before turning over his gavel to Chapman, outgoing 2015 NCTO Chairman Jeff Price delivered the 2016 State of the Textile Industry address.  Price is President, Specialty Fabrics Division, of Milliken & Company – www.milliken.com.

NCTO is a Washington, DC-based trade association that represents domestic textile manufacturers.

  • U.S. employment in the textile supply chain was 579,000 in 2015.
  • The value of shipments for U.S. textiles and apparel was $76 billion last year, a nearly 14% increase since 2009.
  • U.S. exports of fiber, textiles and apparel are up 38% over that same time period, reaching $27.75 billion in 2015.
  • Capital expenditures for textile and apparel production totaled $2 billion in 2014, the last year for which data is available.

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U.S. Textile Manufacturers Endorse Trans-Pacific Partnership

January 21, 2016

Contact: Eliza Levy
202-822-8028
elevy@ncto.org

U.S. Textile Manufacturers Endorse Trans-Pacific Partnership

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On January 20, 2016, the National Council of Textile Organizations voted to formally support the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade agreement. The decision to support TPP came after an exhaustive analysis determined that NCTO’s principle objectives were met as part of the finalized terms of the agreement. These objectives include:

  • A strong yarn forward rule of origin for the vast majority of textile and apparel products.
  • Reasonable, multi-year tariff phase-outs for sensitive textile and apparel products.
  • Terms that provided for the stability of the Western Hemisphere textile and apparel production chain.

“Due to the inclusion of Vietnam and other major textile and apparel exporting countries, the TPP agreement is the most significant trade policy initiative to confront the U.S. textile sector over the past 25 years,” stated Jeff Price, NCTO Chairman and President of the Specialty Fabrics Division at Milliken and Company. “As such, it was critical for our government to produce a final agreement that appropriately reflected the needs of U.S. textile manufacturers and the hundreds of thousands of workers we employ nationwide. We believe that the agreement concluded late last year in Atlanta meets our core objectives and is worthy of our full support.”

“No agreement is perfect, and certainly that is the case with TPP,” Price continued. “There were difficult trade-offs that we, as U.S. manufacturers, had to consider during this process, as is the case with any complicated negotiation. Nonetheless, this agreement is very sound in the essential elements that govern textile trade. We stated throughout the entire negotiating process that if our key objectives were met, NCTO would support the final agreement. Today, we are making good on that commitment to the U.S. government by pledging our support of TPP. With legislative review and action expected in 2016, NCTO looks forward to working with congressional leadership, the committees of jurisdiction, our supporters on Capitol Hill, and the Obama Administration on a path forward for TPP.”

“We extend our thanks to Ambassador Michael Froman and the entire U.S. negotiating team for their willingness to acknowledge our input throughout the TPP process,” Price concluded.

The U.S. textile and apparel industry is a significant contributor to the U.S. economy, producing over $70 billion in annual output and employing nearly 500,000 workers nationwide. In addition, the U.S. textile and apparel sector exported more than $24 billion in goods in 2014.

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Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement Concluded

For Immediate Release

October 5, 2015

NCTO Thanks the U.S. Government for their Close Cooperation on Key Issues in the Textile Chapter

Washington, D.C. – Responding to the announcement that the Obama Administration has successfully concluded the   Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), NCTO expresses gratitude to U.S. negotiators for their close cooperation on key issues in the textile chapter. The twelve nations who finalized the agreement include the United States, Australia, Brunei, Chile, Canada, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam. These countries represent nearly 40% of global gross domestic product. Continue Reading

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Textile Industry Calls on Obama Administration to Address Critical Issues Affecting U.S. Manufacturers during Chinese Presidential Visit

For Immediate Release

September 25, 2015

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) calls on the Obama Administration to utilize today’s visit with Chinese President  Xi Jinping to highlight the urgent need for substantial economic and trade policy reforms by China in order to help level the playing field for U.S. textile producers and other U.S. manufacturers. Continue Reading

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NCTO Statement on Trade Legislation Passed by the Senate Today (5/14/2015)

NCTO Statement on Trade Legislation Passed by the Senate Today

NCTO commends the Senate for earlier today passing two important pieces of trade legislation H.R. 1295 and H.R. 644, addressing trade preference programs and customs enforcement. As the Senate now moves to consider another trade package including Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) and Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA), NCTO urges the chamber to pass a clean TPA bill without harmful amendments that will damage U.S. textile jobs, manufacturing, and exports.

5/14/2015

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TPA Statement

TPA Statement

NCTO applauds both the Senate Finance Committee and the House Ways and Means Committee for reporting out a clean TPA bill – The Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015. In addition, NCTO is appreciative that accompanying legislation did not include provisions damaging to domestic job growth, manufacturing, and the U.S. textile industry as a whole. NCTO encourages both the House and Senate to swiftly pass these bills without additional amendments that would adversely impact U.S. textile manufactures.

The U.S. textile and apparel industry is a strong and growing industry employing 499,500 American workers in 2014. It is critical that U.S. trade agreements are constructed so that the U.S. can compete on a level playing field and in doing so boost American exports, create jobs, and strengthen the U.S. economy. TPA legislation will ensure that the U.S. meets these goals and creates high-standard 21st century trade agreements.

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NCTO ENDORSES THE INTRODUCTION OF THE BIPARTISAN CONGRESSIONAL TRADE PRIORITIES AND ACCOUNTABILITY ACT OF 2015

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 17, 2015

Contact: Eliza Levy
202-822-8028

NCTO ENDORSES THE INTRODUCTION OF THE BIPARTISAN CONGRESSIONAL TRADE PRIORITIES AND ACCOUNTABILITY ACT OF 2015

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) endorses the introduction of legislation to renew Trade Promotion Authority as introduced by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-UT), Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-OR) and House Ways and Means Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI). The Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015 (TPA-2015) would establish congressional negotiating objectives and consultation mechanisms involving international trade agreements currently being negotiated by the U.S. government.
“We are pleased to lend our support to this renewal of Trade Promotion Authority,” stated NCTO President Augustine Tantillo. “We look forward to working with both the Executive Branch and Congress as we advocate for trade agreements that fully incorporate the interests of U.S. textile manufacturers. It is critical that these trade agreements help to level the international playing field and boost American exports, create manufacturing jobs, and strengthen the U.S. economy.”
Among the various negotiating objectives included in the bill is textile-specific language addressing the need for fair market access in trade negotiations.
Subparagraph 2(b)(18) of the bill reads:
Textile Negotiations: The principal negotiating objectives with respect to trade in textiles and apparel are to obtain opportunities for U.S. exports of textiles and apparel in foreign markets substantially equivalent to the competitive opportunities afforded foreign exports in U.S. markets and to achieve fairer and more open conditions of trade in textiles and apparel.

 

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NCTO Applauds USTR for Confronting China on Illegal Export Subsidies

February 11, 2015

NCTO Applauds USTR for Confronting China on Illegal Export Subsidies

Washington, D.C. – The National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) applauds U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Michael Froman’s decision to pursue dispute settlement consultations with the Government of China at the World Trade Organization (WTO) concerning China’s “Demonstration Bases-Common Service Platform” export subsidy program. (Ambassador Froman’s press release linked here)

Through this program, China provides WTO prohibited export subsidies to manufacturers which meet export performance criteria. These illegal subsidies have bolstered China’s meteoritic export surge of textiles and apparel into the U.S. market. The chart below demonstrates the phenomenal growth of Chinese textile and apparel exports to the U.S. market since 2001.

China’s massive export growth over this period resulted in billions of dollars in lost sales and tens of thousands of lost jobs in the U.S. and the Western Hemisphere. “It has been NCTO’s long standing position that China’s rise in the global textile and apparel market has been substantially aided by illegal and unfair trading practices. These illegal practices distort the global market place and put the entire U.S. manufacturing base at a considerable disadvantage,” stated NCTO president Augustine Tantillo. “We applaud the Obama Administration for today’s decision to hold our international trading competitors to their WTO obligations,” he continued.

When afforded a level playing field, the U.S. textile and apparel industry can compete with any country in the world. In 2013*, the U.S. textile and apparel industry was the third largest exporter of textile and apparel products in the world, exporting nearly $24 billion in goods. The industry is also a significant contributor to the overall U.S. economy, producing over $70 billion in annual output. Most importantly, the industry remains a major employer in the United States, providing jobs for nearly 500,000 workers from fiber production to finished product in 2013*. Additionally, for every one direct textile or apparel job, there are three additional jobs supported within the U.S. economy.  

NCTO encourages the U.S. to strenuously pursue this matter at the WTO in order to begin the eradication of these illegal trading practices. Doing so will lead to more fair and open competition in the global market.

*This press release contains 2013 data. Full year 2014 data has not yet been released by the USITC.

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NCTO Joins With Leading Manufacturing Organizations to Call for Immediate Action on Currency Manipulation

For Immediate Release

August 21, 2014

NCTO Joins With Leading Manufacturing Organizations to Call for Immediate Action on Currency Manipulation

Columbia, S.C. — The National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) joined with the American Automotive Policy Council (AAPC) and the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) today to seek U.S. government action to stop currency manipulation. NCTO called upon lawmakers to adopt meaningful legislation to stop predatory currency practices and the Executive Branch to include strong and enforceable currency manipulation disciplines in all future trade agreements.

Export-oriented countries such as China and Vietnam have been shown to purposefully devalue their currency in order to promote their exports and to block imports into their markets. This practice places the entire U.S. manufacturing base at a considerable disadvantage when it comes to international trade.

During an event today in Columbia, S.C., the three organizations highlighted how unfair currency policies hurt American job creation and economic growth. According to a 2014 study by the Economic Policy Institute, ending unfair currency policies can create as many as 2.3 million new manufacturing jobs in the United States by leveling the playing field in global markets.

“NCTO is pleased to join with other major manufacturing associations to highlight the need for currency reform,” said Augustine Tantillo, President of NCTO. “Currency manipulation distorts the global marketplace and puts American workers at a disadvantage. NCTO calls upon congressional leaders to support legislative initiatives that create tangible remedies for U.S. manufacturers that have been damaged by unfair currency practices.”

“Currency manipulation affects all U.S. manufacturing,” Tantillo continued, “As a result, we need a bipartisan solution that involves both the Legislative and Executive Branches of our government.”

The U.S. textile and apparel industries employ nearly 500,000 workers in the United States, including 19,400 textile industry jobs in South Carolina.

SC Currency Press Release

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