FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Samantha Sault at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.or 202-419-0474
Washington, D.C. – The TPP Apparel Coalition joined industry groups from six Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) countries in a joint statement expressing “strong support for a conclusion of a 21st century TPP agreement that will generate trade and investment between our countries” as well as “more commercially meaningful market access and flexibilities in the rules for the apparel industry that recognize the importance of global value chains to the competitiveness of the apparel supply chain.”
The organizations—representing the fashion, apparel, and retail industries in Australia, Canada, Malaysia, Singapore, the United States, and Vietnam—call for inclusion of additional flexibilities in the rules of origin for apparel, more immediate and reciprocal duty-free access for qualifying apparel, and fair customs procedures that facilitate trade and reflect smart enforcement strategies based on risk.
The signatories of the statement include: Australian Retailers Association, American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA), Canadian Apparel Federation, Council of Textile & Fashion Industries of Australia Limited, Malaysia Knitting Manufacturers Association, Malaysian Textile Manufacturers Association, National Retail Association (Australia), National Retail Federation (United States), Retail Council of Canada, Retail Industry Leaders Association (United States), Textile & Fashion Federation (Singapore), United States Fashion Industry Association (USFIA), and the Vietnam Textile & Apparel Association.
The statement was sent to negotiators last week in advance of the meeting of TPP Ministers in Beijing last week.
About the TPP Apparel Coalition: The TPP Apparel Coalition includes American retailers, apparel brands, apparel manufacturers, and importers, and the millions of American workers they employ. Our member companies design, market, and retail products manufactured in and imported to the United States, as well as market and retail products throughout the TPP partner countries. We support the negotiation of a 21st Century TPP 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.
