U.S. House
of Representatives Calls for
USTR
to
Adhere to Textile Negotiating Objectives in WTO
Talks
Appropriations Committee Mandates Report on
Progress of Textile
Negotiations
June
29, 2006
For
Immediate Release
WASHINGTON,
DC – The
U.S. House of Representatives today passed H.R.
5672, the Science, State, Justice, Commerce, and
Related Agencies Appropriations Act, 2007, by a
vote of 393 to 23. The
legislation provides appropriations for the
Department of Commerce, the Office of the U.S.
Trade Representative
(USTR), and
various other departments and
agencies.
The
American Manufacturing Trade Action Coalition
(AMTAC), the National Council of Textile
Organizations (NCTO), and the National Textile
Association (NTA), associations representing the
U.S. textile industry, praised U.S. Representative
Virgil Goode of Virginia for persuading the House
to include language reiterating the WTO
negotiating objectives given to the U.S.
government in the Trade Act of 2002 and for
requiring USTR to
report on its progress in textile segment of the
negotiations.
With
regard to USTR,
language in Title II of the legislation obligates
the office to adhere to the negotiating objectives
contained in the Trade Act of
2002:
For
necessary expenses of the Office of the United
States Trade Representative, including the hire of
passenger motor vehicles and the employment of
experts and consultants as authorized by 5 U.S.C.
3109, $46,207,000, of which $1,000,000 shall
remain available until expended: Provided,
That not to exceed $124,000 shall be available for
official reception and representation expenses:
Provided
further, That negotiations
shall be conducted within the World Trade
Organization consistent with the negotiating
objectives contained in the Trade Act of 2002,
Public Law 107-210: Provided
further, That not less than $2,000,000
provided under this heading shall be for
negotiating, implementing, monitoring, and
enforcing trade agreements with
China.
In
House Report 109-520 accompanying the bill, the
following textile-specific language was
attached:
Textiles- The
Committee is aware of concerns about the World
Trade Organization negotiations concerning
textiles and apparel. The Committee believes such
negotiations should be consistent with negotiating
objectives contained in the Trade Act of 2002 and
directs the USTR to
report to the Committee within 60 days of
enactment of this Act, regarding adherence to
these objectives. Bill language is included
regarding this matter.
The
trade associations jointly stated, “We are pleased
that the House, and the Appropriations Committee
in particular, have taken a keen interest in the
outcome of the textile portion of the ongoing WTO
negotiations. We look
forward to USTR’s
report on textiles 60 days after this legislation
becomes law.”
“The
language in the bill and report is a clear
indication that Congress will conduct thorough
oversight of whether USTR is
meeting its textile negotiating commitments
included in the Trade Act of 2002. It is vital
that Congress continue to insist, as it has today,
that full reciprocity must be achieved in any
final WTO agreement, as reciprocity is the only
way to guarantee the
U.S.
textile industry accrual of any benefits in the
negotiations,” the associations
said.
The
principal textile and apparel negotiating
objectives handed to the
U.S.
government in the Trade Act of 2002 are as
follows:
(16)
TEXTILE NEGOTIATIONS- The principal negotiating
objectives of the United States with respect to
trade in textiles and apparel articles are to
obtain competitive opportunities for United States
exports of textiles and apparel in foreign markets
substantially equivalent to the competitive
opportunities afforded foreign exports in United
States markets and to achieve fairer and more open
conditions of trade in textiles and apparel.
(Emphasis
added)
“At
this juncture, we strongly believe that
USTR
cannot meet the objectives contained in the Trade
Act of 2002 without a special sectoral for
textiles and apparel in the WTO’s non-agricultural
market access (NAMA) talks. Absent a
sectoral, foreign exporters will receive greater
competitive opportunities in the
U.S.
market than the
U.S.
textile industry will receive in foreign markets
under the general formula of proposed tariff
cuts.
Such an outcome then will result in less
than full reciprocity, violating the objectives
contained in the Trade Act of 2002” the
associations continued.
“The
U.S.
textile industry will continue to work with
Congressman Goode and our other friends in
Congress to make sure that the
U.S.
government does not bring back any
Doha
agreement without first succeeding in meeting with
the negotiating objectives included in the Trade
Act of 2002,” the associations concluded.
On
June 13th, 44 members of Congress sent
USTR
Ambassador Susan Schwab a letter demanding that
textiles be negotiated in separate sectoral in the
Doha Round of trade talks.
CONTACTS:
AMTAC
– Lloyd Wood, Dir. of Media
Relations
(202)
452-0866 or lwood@amtac.org
NCTO –
Cass Johnson, President
(202)
822-8025 or cjohnson@ncto.org
NTA –
Karl Spilhaus, President
(617)
542-8220 x 1
or kspilhaus@nationaltextile.org
# #
#
