National
Council of Textile Organizations
(NCTO)
American
Manufacturing Trade Action Coalition
(AMTAC)
PRESS
STATEMENT
Members
of Congress Call for United
States
to
Oppose the E.U.-Led LDC Duty-Free, Quota-Free
Initiative on Textiles
and
to Endorse Separate Textile Talks in Upcoming WTO
Negotiations
Send
Letter to President Bush
Link
to Hill Letter: http://63.220.14.74/pdf/12_08_05_Hill%20Letter.pdf
December
8, 2005
WASHINGTON,
DC
- Twenty-four (24) members of the U.S. House of
Representatives sent a letter to President Bush
today urging the
United
States
to take a strong stand on two textile-related
issues at the World Trade Organization's (WTO)
Doha Development Round Hong Kong Ministerial
scheduled for December 13-18.
The
Members urged the
United
States
(1) to oppose the European Union-led initiative to
grant Least Developed Countries (LDC's) duty-free
and quota-free access to the
U.S.
market, and (2) to endorse a Special Textile
Sectoral
(STS)
that would cover textiles and clothing within the
round's non-agricultural market access (NAMA)
talks.
The
U.S.
textile industry thanked its friends in Congress
for taking a strong stand on the two points above
and also made the following points:
"The
E.U.-led initiative must be opposed. According
to UN data,
China
(including Hong
Kong)
supplies 60 percent of the fabric needs for
Bangladesh
and
Cambodia,
the largest LDC exporters. With
duty-free status, Chinese penetration of the
U.S.
market would increase dramatically as
U.S.
apparel imports would shift away from Western
Hemispheric producers that use U.S.-made
components to producers in
Bangladesh
and
Cambodia
that would be using Chinese-made components. Such a
result would certainly cause massive job losses in
the
United
States
and Latin
America,"
said Cass Johnson, President of the National
Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO). He also
went on to note that textile and apparel trade
associations in the AGOA/CAFTA/NAFTA/ANDEAN
regions were all on record as opposing the LDC
proposal.
"An
STS
is critical for textiles and clothing if the
U.S.
textile industry is to be preserved in the long
term. China
and other countries are pushing for drastic cuts
in
U.S.
textile tariffs as part of a formula approach
under NAMA.
Until we have eliminated the non-tariff
barriers and trade distorting practices employed
by many countries around the globe, especially
China, we should not further expose U.S. textile
and apparel manufacturers to heavily-subsidized
imports from those countries who refuse to live up
to their WTO obligations. An
STS
gives the
United
States
the chance to do just that," said American
Manufacturing Trade Action Coalition (AMTAC)
Executive Director Auggie Tantillo.
Tantillo
and Johnson remarked in conclusion, "Last month
the
United
States
signed a three-year textile agreement with
China
that gives critical breathing space for the
U.S.
textile industry to make plans to address the
unfair trade practices devastating
manufacturers. The
actions outlined in this letter are the first
steps toward addressing that goal."
Members
of Congress that signed the letter to President
Bush are:
