Contact:  Cass Johnson: 202-822-8025                                                             September 20, 2006
                Missy Branson:  202-822-8026

NCTO URGES “YES” VOTE ON SCHUMER-GRAHAM CHINA BILL

SENATE MUST ACT TO SAVE U.S. JOBS 

Millions of U.S. Jobs Threatened by Chinese Protectionism

Washington DC) The National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) today urged Senate members from textile-producing states to vote “yes” on the Schumer-Graham Currency Bill (S. 295) which will be voted on in the Senate by September 29th.

NCTO President Cass Johnson stressed the importance of voting yes:  “Now is the time for the U.S. Senate to stand up to China and to send a strong message that millions of U.S. workers will not be put at further risk because China refuses to play fair.  The Administration has tried for years to get China to move, but China has failed to respond.”  

Johnson continued, “According to the U.S.-China Economic and Security Commission, 1.5 million manufacturing jobs have been lost to China since China pegged its currency in 1994.  At the same time, economists, academics and international institutions have all testified that China can revalue today without harm to its economy.  And yet China continues to play the role of economic predator, wiping out industrial sector after sector, causing untold hardship in U.S. manufacturing communities across the nation. 

“Currency manipulation is the worst kind of protectionism and China’s 40 percent currency advantage has made it the world’s greatest protectionist.  China’s absolute refusal to significantly revalue its currency goes against all principles of free and fair trade.” 

“The U.S. textile industry is particularly at risk from China’s protectionist practices.  Quotas on textile and apparel imports from China will expire in a little more than two years and, using its currency as an economic weapon, China is predicted to take two-thirds of the U.S. market in apparel.  This will devastate the U.S. industry as well as million of textile and apparel jobs around the globe, many in Central America and Mexico.”

Johnson concluded, “While China seems perfectly willing to act on behalf of its workers, the United States continues to stand aside while the U.S. manufacturing sector continues to be hollowed out. The time has come for the Senate to stand up for the interests of U.S. workers and their families.  The U.S. Senate must let China know that we will not cut and run from our workers and their right to free and fair competition in the global markets.  For their sake, for the sake of fair play, for the sake of free and open competition, the Senate must approve the Schumer-Graham bill. “
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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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