On February 13, 2013, the TPP Apparel Coalition welcomed a new study titled, Analyzing the Value Chain for Apparel Designed in the United States and Manufactured Overseas. The report, by trade economist Susan Hester, Ph.D., of Moongate Associates, found that on average, 70.3 percent of final retail price of studied apparel is created by workers in the United States. Specifically, the global value chain for apparel relies on a full range of highly-skilled and highly-compensated American workers in blue-collar and white-collar jobs that contribute to the design, development, production, importation, distribution and sale of apparel in the United States. The Coalition conducted numerous Hill meetings to talk about the study, and will continue to use it when discussing the importance of global value chains to the TPP agreement. 

For more information on the TPP Apparel Coalition, visit www.tppapparelcoalition.org.