agreements. It has filed public comments in response to a June 29 notice issued by the Department of Commerce and the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR).
NCTO is a Washington, DC-based trade association that represents domestic textile manufacturers. “A thorough investigation of trade agreement abuses and violations is long overdue and we appreciate the President Trump’s desire to finally review this important matter,” said NCTO president and CEO Auggie Tantillo in a press statement.
The executive order 13796 was signed by President Trump on April 29 last. Documents associated with this matter are archived under Docket USTR-2017-0010.
“If America is to fix the systemic problems that plague the international trading structure and stop trade cheats from driving American production offshore, policymakers need a better understanding of the illegal or unfair trade tactics that are being used to hurt US industry, including textiles,” Tantillo said.
US employment in the textile supply chain was 565,000 in 2016. The value of shipments for US textiles and apparel was $74.4 billion last year, a nearly 11 per cent increase since 2009, according to NCTO. The value of US exports of fibre, textiles and apparel was $26.3 billion in 2016. (DS)