On July 23, 2013, 48 U.S. business and agriculture trade associations including USA-ITA sent a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman urging for “further trade liberalization” in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement. The letter specifically urges trade liberalization in “the few sectors of the U.S. economy, such as textiles and apparel, sugar, and footwear, that continue to receive relatively substantial protection from import competition compared to most other sectors.” The letter was organized by the U.S. Business Coalition for TPP and sent during the 18^th round of negotiations in Malaysia.

Americans for Free Trade, a multi-industry coalition of companies and trade associations (including the United States Fashion Industry Association) sent a letter to President Trump on November 27th urging him to resolve the trade dispute with China during his meeting with President Xi at the G20 Summit in Argentina. “We agree that trading partners should abide by the global trade rules. Accordingly, we believe that targeted trade actions are effective measures for proven trade violations. Broadly applied tariffs, however, are not. At a time when our economy is booming, unemployment is at record lows and consumer confidence is at its highest level in nearly two decades, we are united in our concern over the harmful consequences of tariffs for American businesses, workers, and families,” the letter states. 

On August 21, 2013, 34 apparel companies, including many USA-ITA member companies, sent a letter to U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman “to urge the inclusion of a commercially meaningful rule of origin that promotes trade in apparel products under the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement.” The letter notes that a yarn-forward rule of origin is no longer effective to support the supply chains in the industry and calls for a more flexible rule of origin,  a more workable approach to short supply, as well as “the immediate elimination of the punitive taxes imposed on apparel imports (in the form of tariffs).” 

President Trump received two letters—including one signed by the United States Fashion Industry Association (USFIA)—expressing concerns about potential tariffs under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974. The Administration is investigating China’s intellectual property and technology policies and considering broad tariff remedies on imports from China. One letter, available here, was signed by more than two dozen fashion and retail CEOs, including USFIA members American Eagle Outfitters, JCPenney, Kohl’s, Levi Strauss & Co., and Macy’s, among others. The other letter, available here, was signed by more than 40 trade associations across fashion, retail, tech, autos, and food and beverages. The Wall Street Journal has more on the trade association letter.

Issue Summary

On August 5, 2004, the United States signed the Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR), which includes Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic. According to USTR, CAFTA-DR is the first Free Trade Agreement between the United States and a group of smaller, developing economies and creates new economic opportunities and market access, especially in the textile and apparel industries.

According to the U.S. Department of Commerce Office of Textiles & Apparel (OTEXA), Nicaragua was granted a Tariff Preference Level (TPL) that allows apparel made of certain cotton and man-made fiber to enter the U.S. duty free under CAFTA-DR if it’s assembled in Nicaragua, regardless of the origin of the fabrics. The TPL is limited to 100 million square meter equivalent units (SME) per year. The TPL will expire on December 31, 2014. 

In addition, the TPL contains a “unique provision for woven trousers (categories 347/348 and 647/648),” says OTEXA. Nicaraguan trouser producers must use matching amounts of U.S. and foreign fabrics to make the trousers, and the fabrics must be matched one-for-one, and the amount of trousers that can be imported to the United States is capped.

On June 11, 2013, Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) introduced legislation (S. 1136) to extend the Nicaragua TPL for 10 years, through 2024.

USFIA Position

The TPL is an important benefit for United States Fashion Industry Association (USFIA) members and also has helped create new business for U.S. textile mills. USFIA, formerly the United States Association of Importers of Textiles & Apparel (USA-ITA), supports the extension of the Nicaragua TPL as soon as possible. Extension will encourage companies to continue to source in Nicaragua and build the Western Hemisphere supply chain.

Advocacy

On March 14, 2013, USA-ITA (now USFIA) joined an industry letter to the Congressional trade leadership, urging them to take action to extend the CAFTA duty-free benefits available through the Nicaragua TPL, which expires at the end of 2014.  We will continue to be active on this issue to ensure that the Nicaragua TPL is extended.

On June 18, 2013, USA-ITA (now USFIA) joined other apparel and retail associations in sending a letter to Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) supporting renewal of the Nicaragua TPL.

Issue Summary

On August 5, 2004, the United States signed the Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR), which includes Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic. According to USTR, CAFTA-DR is the first Free Trade Agreement between the United States and a group of smaller, developing economies and creates new economic opportunities and market access, especially in the textile and apparel industries.

In 2011, USTR announced a number of changes to CAFTA-DR specifically related to textiles and apparel. These changes include:

• Clarification that certain monofilament sewing thread is now required to originate or be produced in the CAFTA-DR region to qualify for preferential treatment
• Clarification of Chapter notes to short-supply list for sewing thread, pocketing fabrics, and visible lining fabrics
• Treatment of women’s and girls’ woven sleep bottoms
• Treatment of knit-to-shape components
• Treatment of elastomeric yarn in fabrics on the short-supply list
• Classification of knit waistbands
• Increase in the amount of CAFTA Cumulation levels

On June 19, 2012, identical bipartisan legislation was introduced in the House (H.R. 5986) and Senate (S. 3326) to:

• Extend the African Growth & Opportunity Act (AGOA) third-country fabric provisions through 2015 and add South Sudan as an eligible beneficiary country under AGOA; 
• Implement non-controversial technical corrections and modifications to the CAFTA-DR textile and apparel rules of origin provisions; and,
• Renew Presidential authority to apply import sanctions against Burma.

This legislation passed Congress on August 2, 2012, and was signed by President Obama on August 10, 2012. The fixes will go into effect 60 days after the publication of the Presidential Proclamation and the notification of the Organization of American States (OAS), on or around October 15, 2012. All CAFTA-DR countries have already approved the changes in the legislation. More information on the legislation is available from the House Ways & Means Committee here.

USFIA Position

The United States Fashion Industry Association (USFIA) supports the implementation of these “fixes” to the CAFTA-DR agreement and applauds Congress for passing the legislation.

Advocacy

On June 13, 2012, the United States Association of Importers of Textiles & Apparel (USA-ITA), now USFIA, joined a multi-industry group of trade associations and other business organizations in sending a letter to the leadership of the U.S. Senate Finance Committee and U.S. House Ways & Means Committee again calling for passage of the CAFTA fixes, along with renewing the Third-Country Fabric Provision of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). On the CAFTA fixes, the letter said:

Similarly, in March 2011, the CAFTA-DR trade ministers met in El Salvador and approved several changes related to CAFTA-DR rules of origin that will benefit the Western Hemisphere textile and apparel supply chain. This move to correct technical errors in the agreement is a job-preserving measure that will allow U.S. producers to recapture market share in the important CAFTA-DR market.

All our CAFTA-DR partners have already completed the domestic procedures necessary to make these changes take effect. Only the United States has yet to take action. Continued uncertainty prompted by this delay will undermine the trade benefits that we have already seen under the CAFTA-DR. Such action is essential to supporting the hundreds of thousands of U.S., Central American, and Dominican workers whose jobs depend on a vibrant Western Hemisphere textile and apparel supply chain.

On October 21, 2011, President Obama signed the implementing legislation for the long-awaited Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Colombia, along with the South Korea and Panama FTAs and a host of other trade legislation. 

After meetings between the U.S. and Colombian governments, as well as work by the Colombian government on issues including intellectual property, international arbitration, etc., the U.S.-Colombia FTA went into effect on May 15, 2012. It is important to note that there are quite a few changes between the U.S.-Colombia FTA and the Andean Trade Promotion and Drug Eradication Act (ATPDEA), under which companies imported textile and apparel products from Colombia prior to the passage of the FTA. (These differences were outlined in a May 3rd webinar hosted by USFIA.)

USFIA Position

The United States Fashion Industry Association (USFIA) is a strong supporter of removing barriers to trade with Colombia, and welcomes the passage and implementation of the U.S.-Colombia FTA. Now that the FTA is in effect, USFIA, formerly the United States Association of Importers of Textiles & Apparel (USA-ITA), encourages the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and the U.S. Department of Commerce to develop a cumulation program for Colombia and the United States' other trading partners in the Western Hemisphere.

Advocacy

On September 13, 2011, USA-ITA (now USFIA) joined a number of textile, apparel, and retail associations in signing a letter to President Barack Obama and the Congressional leadership urging the passage of the then-pending U.S.-Colombia Free Trade Agreement (FTA). The delays in Congressional action and continuing uncertainty, combined with the expiration of ATPDEA, hurt USA-ITA member companies as well as their suppliers. 

On May 25, 2012, ten days after the FTA went into effect, USA-ITA (now USFIA) sent a letter to the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and the U.S. Department of Commerce calling for cumulation between the Colombia FTA and other Western Hemisphere trade agreements. Both Colombia and the countries of the Central America-Dominican Republic Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) have free trade agreements with the United States. However, if an apparel item is produced combining inputs from both Colombia and the CAFTA-DR region, it would not qualify for any duty benefits. The U.S. retailer or brand would be forced to pay full duty, which makes the production and finished products more expensive and is detrimental to the expansion of textile and apparel supply chain jobs in the United States. USFIA encourages the Administration to develop a plan for cumulation of regional inputs for the purpose of meeting the agreement’s apparel rule of origin requirements. Cumulation would have a tremendously beneficial effect on job creation throughout the textile and apparel supply chain in the United States. 

Issue Summary

On October 21, 2011, President Obama signed the implementing legislation for the long-awaited Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Panama, along with the South Korea and Colombia FTAs and a host of other trade legislation. On October 31, 2012, the FTA went into effect.

USFIA Position

The United States Fashion Industry Association (USFIA) is a strong supporter of removing barriers to trade with Panama, and welcomes the passage and implementation of the U.S.-Panama FTA.

On October 21, 2011, President Obama signed the implementing legislation for the long-awaited Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with South Korea, along with the Colombia and Panama FTAs and a host of other trade legislation. It may be many months, however, until the U.S.-Korea FTA goes into effect.

On November 22, the Korean National Assembly ratified the U.S.-Korea FTA by 151 to 7, even though some Korean lawmakers were calling for renegotiation. With fears of physical altercations in the Assembly, members of President Lee Myung-bak’s Grand National Party called a snap plenary session in hopes of avoiding trouble. The FTA passed by a vote of 151 to 7, with 12 abstaining and 129 lawmakers missing. The opposition members voted against the bill, abstained, or were not present for the vote.

In a statement, U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Ron Kirk said, “The United States welcomes the Korean National Assembly’s approval of the KORUS FTA. This is a win-win agreement that will provide significant economic and strategic benefits to both countries.” 

On March 15, 2012, the U.S.-Korea FTA went into effect. For more information on how to take advantage of the duty-free benefits in the agreement, we encourage you to purchase our recent webinar series.

USFIA Position

The United States Fashion Industry Association (USFIA) is a strong supporter of removing barriers to trade with South Korea, and welcomes the passage and implementation on March 15th of the U.S.-Korea FTA.

Throughout March 2012, USFIA, formerly the United States Association of Importers of Textiles & Apparel (USA-ITA), hosted a series of webinars outlining the textile, apparel, and footwear provisions of the agreement. The presentations from these webinars are available for purchase here.

Resources

U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement

U.S. Department of Commerce: Why a U.S.-Korea Free Trade Agreement?

U.S. Department of Commerce: FTA Tariff Tools

U.S. Customs & Border Protection: Info on Regulations/Customs for U.S.-Korea FTA

KoreaTextile.org

Apparel Imports Work for America 

The next time you’re changing your clothes—whether you’re going to the gym, a black-tie dinner, or bed—check your clothes’ labels. More likely than not, your clothes were imported. And if you happen to see a “Made in the USA” label, it’s likely that the garment’s thread, buttons, zippers, or even fabric were imported.

These imports are a good thing—not only for American families, who continue to struggle in this challenging economy yet still need affordable and quality clothing, but also for American jobs and the American economy. When you buy this “imported” clothing, you’re supporting an industry that employed 2.9 million people in the United States in 2011—people working in jobs across the value chain, from design to transportation to Customs clearance and compliance to warehousing and distribution to marketing and retail. These jobs are high-quality jobs, too, with average salaries ranging from $45,100/year for cargo and freight agents to $73,640/year for fashion designers to $124,138/year for longshore workers.

A recent study by Moongate Associates, supported by the TPP Apparel Coalition, showed exactly how well these apparel imports work for America. Moongate surveyed seven American apparel brands and retailers that design their apparel products in the United States and manufacture them overseas. The study found that, on average, the U.S. value-added as a percentage of the final retail price for 20 products sold by these companies was 70.3 percent. What does that mean? It means that, despite the fact that these products were physically manufactured overseas, American workers at all stages of the global value chain as mentioned above contributed to 70.3 percent of the garment’s total value.

And it’s worth noting that the seven companies participating in the study alone employ more than 350,000 people in the United States! That’s a lot of American jobs.

As we celebrate the second Imports Work for America Week from May 6-10, 2013, it’s important to remember that, while U.S. manufacturing jobs are certainly important to the economy, U.S. jobs relying on imports are equally important, too, including manufacturing jobs that rely on imported inputs. We hope you’ll join us and numerous other industry associations in celebrating the benefits of imports this week—and tell us how imports work for you!

About Imports Work for America Week 

May 6-10, 2013, marks Imports Work for America Week. This initiative is led by a coalition of organizations, including the United States Fashion Industry Association (formerly the United States Association of Importers of Textiles & Apparel) representing tens of thousands of businesses employing millions of American workers across the United States who depend on access to imports to compete globally. Throughout the week, the coalition will highlight the following themes: 

May 6^th:Imports Work for U.S. Jobs

May 7^th:Imports Work for American Families

May 8^th:Imports Work for U.S. Manufacturing

May 9^th:Imports Work for Economic Development

May 10^th:Imports Work for America: A Policy Agenda

USFIA is proud to support this important initiative. For more information on how imports work for America, visit www.importswork.com or download the new study by the Trade Partnership, Imports Work for America. 

Resources:

Study: Imports Work for America

Consuming Industries Trade Action Coalition: LNG Exports and Consuming Industries in the United States

Heritage Foundation: Bigger Trade Deficit = More Economic Growth

GSP Works for American Jobs

Op-Ed: Imports Work for America 

Heritage Foundation: Give Shoe Taxes the Boot

USITC: The Economic Effects of Significant U.S. Import Restraints

The United States Fashion Industry Association (USFIA) joined with more than eighty industry groups to ask United States Trade Representative, Robert Lighthizer, for improvements to the exclusion process available for products that are affected by the penalty tariffs imposed under the 301 action against China. The letter contains proposals for product exclusion request procedures, and detailed recommendations regarding the criteria the Administration will use to evaluate product exclusion requests. Click here to read the full letter.

On March 14, 2013, USA-ITA (now USFIA) joined an industry letter to the Congressional trade leadership, urging them to take action to extend the CAFTA duty-free benefits available through the Nicaragua TPL, which expires at the end of 2014.  We will continue to be active on this issue to ensure that the Nicaragua TPL is extended.

On June 18, 2013, USA-ITA (now USFIA) joined other apparel and retail associations in sending a letter to Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) supporting renewal of the Nicaragua TPL.

On February 3, 2016, the TPP Apparel Coalition, which includes the United States Fashion Industry Association (USFIA), applauded the signing of the TPP in Auckland, New Zealand. The coalition's statement is available here.

On December 14, 2011, the TPP Apparel Coaliltion submitted a statement to the House Ways & Means Subcommittee on Trade on the Trans-Pacific Partnership. 

The Coalition supports the negotiation of a 21^st-century agreement, which offers a potential growth platform for economic integration, trade and investment that could provide tremendous new opportunities for our members to buy and sell goods and services and to sustain and grow well-paying U.S. jobs and provide high value add for the US and TPP economies.

The TPP Apparel Coalition has produced a number of resources on TPP, including:

• TPP Apparel Coalition Position Paper
• Fact Sheet: Common Myths About the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the Yarn Forward Rule of Origin
• Fact Sheet: U.S. Free Trade Agreements and the Yarn Forward Rule
• Fact Sheet: Yarn Forward and the TPP
• Fact Sheet: Customs & the TPP
• Fact Sheet: U.S. Domestic Textile Industry & the TPP
• Fact Sheet: Vietnam & the TPP
• Stakeholder Presentation: TPP & Textiles & Apparel: A Storyboard
• Stakeholder Presentation: The Supply Chain Structure for the Apparel Industry and the Role of TPP

The TPP Apparel Coalition submitted a statement for the record to the Senate Finance Committee following the committee’s hearing on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement. In the statement, the Coalition notes that negotiators “should embrace a policy on textiles and apparel that facilitates today’s global value chains and the millions of American jobs that depend on them.” 

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.

On April 2^nd, the Trade Benefits America Coalition sent a letter to Senate Finance Committee and House Ways and Means Committee leadership in advance of the hearings on the Administration’s trade agenda. The letter urges the committees to move forward on, and pass, Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) to help “create opportunities for companies of all sizes” and help Americans “buy and sell goods and services with other countries.” The United States Fashion Industry Association (USFIA) signed the letter, along with over 200 trade associations and corporations of all sizes.

On December 18, 2013, United States Fashion Industry Association (USFIA) President Julia K. Hughes participated in the Transatlantic Trade & Investment Partnership (TTIP) stakeholder briefing day during the third round of negotiations in Washington, D.C.

On July 2, 2012, USA-ITA (now USFIA) joined U.S. and Vietnamese apparel industry associations in sending a letter to the Vietnamese and U.S. negotiators urging the inclusion of provisions that recognize the importance of global value chains to the competitiveness of the U.S. and Vietnamese apparel industries. These provisions include simple and flexible rules of origin for apparel, focusing on either assembly or regional value content requirements; immediate and reciprocal duty-free access for apparel; and customs procedures that facilitate trade and reflect smart enforcement based on risk.