July 30, 2008 - Meeting in Gastonia, North Carolina, the leaders of the U.S. and Mexican textile industries agreed to work together on a number of areas in order to increase the competitiveness of the textile industry in North America. Among those areas was countering the threat of subsidies from China, customs enforcement and regional infrastructure.
"This meeting was an important step in
coordinating our efforts to ensure that North
American's textile platform remains a source of
employment for more than two million workers
across the region" said National Council of
Textile Organizations (NCTO) chairman Anderson Warlick.
"The impending implementation of
cumulation provisions in CAFTA/DR on August 15
makes it clear that the future of the U.S. and
Mexican textile industries-and that of our
colleagues in the hemisphere is inextricably
linked" said David Garcia, president of Camara
Nacional de la Industria Textil (CANAINTEX). "We
must work together to secure our collective
future."
The two groups agreed they would work
jointly with U.S. and Mexican government
officials to combat fraudulent shipments into
both markets. According to Anderson Warlick,
Chairman of NCTO, "Customs fraud continues to
plague both our sectors, particularly the
illegal use of Chinese yarns and fabrics to
claim NAFTA and CAFTA origin. Last year, NCTO
initiated a Customs Fraud Alert program and we
look forward to integrating our data gathering
with Canaintex."
"Canaintex member companies have
developed very specific information which we are
confident will be of assistance to customs
officials in both countries," said Mr. Garcia.
Comparing notes on recent missions to
China, the two organizations agreed that China
will remain a disruptive force in world textile
markets and that unfair subsidies to Chinese
textile producers remained the most important
threat to the competitiveness of North American
textile industry.
According to Mr. Warlick, "China's
textile and apparel complex employs more workers
than the entire U.S. manufacturing sector and
today gets more than five dozen subsidies from
the Chinese government. As a result, China has
wreaked havoc throughout the world textile and
apparel trading sector each time trade
restraints have been removed".
Both organizations called on the U.S.
government to extend the current Textile
Monitoring Program (TPM) to China. "We are happy
to compete against Chinese companies but we
cannot compete against the Chinese government,"
said Mr. Garcia. "We strongly urge the U.S.
Government to put China under the TMP."
NCTO and CANAINTEX agreed to work with
textile and apparel organizations from the CAFTA
and ANDEAN region to coordinate strategy on
these and other issues in the years ahead.
Key Facts about U.S. Textile Industry:
One of the largest manufacturing
employers in the United States, the overall
textile sector employed nearly one million
workers (862,800) in 2006. Textile mills alone
employed 356,700 workers.
The 3rd largest exporter of textile products
in the world - more than $16.5 billion in 2006.
Nearly two-thirds of U.S. textile exports
during 2007 went to developing countries. The
U.S. textile industry exported 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.
U.S. textile shipments totaled $68.5 billion
in 2007.
Invested more than $9 billion in new plants
and equipment from 2001 to 2006.
Has increased productivity by 50 percent over
the last 10 years and ranks second among all
industrial sectors in productivity increases.
In 2007, textile workers on average earned
136% more than clothing store workers ($524 a
week vs. $222) and received health care and
pension benefits.
