For
Immediate Release Contact: Missy
Branson, 202-256-4767
August 4, 2006
Senate Passes CAFTA Fixes
for Pocketing and Trouser Fabric
Manufacturers
Washington DC) NCTO
hailed the overwhelming passage of H.R. 4, the
Pension Protection Act, by the Senate late last
night. The Senate
approved H.R. 4 by a vote of 93-5. The House
approved the measure last week on a 279-31
vote.
The legislation will now be sent to
President Bush and he is expected to sign the bill
into law.
H.R. 4 contains several
important trade-related provisions including a
change to the rule of origin for pocketing fabric
and provides authority to U.S. Customs and Border
Protection to effectively enforce the
tariff-preference level (TPL) for
Nicaragua. The Bush
Administration committed to making these changes
last year to secure votes for passage of the
DR-CAFTA.
Under these changes, the
material for pockets going into apparel made in
the CAFTA region will have to be made in the
U.S. or CAFTA countries for
the product to enter the
U.S. duty free. With
respect to the TPL,
Nicaragua has already agreed that
it will increase its purchases of
U.S. trouser fabric equivalent
to its use of the TPL for trouser fabric sourced
outside the region. The
provisions in this legislation simply provide U.S.
Customs and Border Protection with the necessary
authority to enforce this arrangement. Once this
legislation has been signed by the President, the
U.S. and CAFTA countries will
need to meet to formally sanction the
changes.
Cass Johnson, President of
NCTO, said:
“It was important to the
U.S. textile industry that
CAFTA passed and we were glad that textile-state
members provided the margin of victory. With
passage of this bill today, the Administration and
key leaders in Congress have demonstrated that by
working together and by working with the system
positive things can be accomplished. Today was
a good day for the
U.S. textile industry and its
workers and we are very thankful to our
congressional allies who worked so hard to make
this happen.”
Johnson further noted,
“Once the President signs the bill, NCTO will ask
USTR to quickly convene a meeting of the CAFTA
countries to ensure these changes take affect as
soon as possible.”
CAFTA
IS IMPORTANT TO THE
U.S.
TEXTILE INDUSTRY
·
The
CAFTA region is the second largest market for
U.S.
yarns and fabrics. The
U.S.
textile industry exported more than $4 billion in
textiles and apparel to Central
America
in 2004.
·
Apparel
imported to the
U.S.
from this region has on average more than 70
percent
U.S.
content, while apparel imported from
China
has less than 1 percent
U.S.
content.
CAFTA will help ensure that apparel makers
in Central
America
continue to use
U.S.
yarns and fabrics and will help prevent this
business from being lost to
Asia.
·
If
the U.S.
textile industry is to remain competitive against
China,
it must have a predictable and stable duty-free
trading platform in this hemisphere. CAFTA
provides this platform.
KEY
FACTS ABOUT THE
U.S.
TEXTILE INDUSTRY
- One of the largest
manufacturing employers in the
United
States, the overall textile
sector employs nearly one million workers
(973,000).
Textile mills alone employ 416,000
workers.
- Third largest exporter
of textile products in the world – more than $16
billion in 2005. The
U.S. textile industry
exports to more than 50 countries, with 20
countries buying more than $100 million a year.
- Supplies more than 8,000
different textile products a year to the
U.S. military.
- Contributed more than
$60 billion to the U.S. GDP in 2004.
- Invested more than $30
billion in new plants and equipment over the
last 10 years.
- Textile mills rank near
the top of all manufacturing sectors in
productivity growth over the past ten
years.
- Textile workers earn an
average of 60 percent more than retail workers
($497 a week vs. $301) and get health care and
pension benefits.
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