Posted April 20, 2015

 

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) announced it is endorsing the introduction of legislation to renew Trade Promotion Authority (TPA).

 

The Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015 (TPA-2015) was introduced by Senate Finance Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and House Ways and Means Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wyo.). Trade Promotion Authority, also known as “fast track,” subjects any international trade pact to only an up-or-down vote in Congress, with no amendments allowed.

 

TPA could facilitate passage of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), a comprehensive, 12-country agreement that has been in the works for years. NCTO has worked closely with lawmakers and trade negotiators to ensure that TPP includes specific language that could help buffer the textile and apparel sector and their suppliers in the Western Hemisphere, including:

 

• A strong yarn forward rule-of-origin;

• Reasonable duty phase-outs on sensitive textile and apparel items; and

• Strong Customs enforcement provisions

 

TPA-2015 would establish congressional negotiating objectives and consultation mechanisms involving international trade agreements currently being negotiated by the U.S. government.

“We are pleased to lend our support to this renewal of Trade Promotion Authority,” NCTO President Augustine Tantillo said in a release. “We look forward to working with both the Executive Branch and Congress as we advocate for trade agreements that fully incorporate the interests of U.S. textile manufacturers. It is critical that these trade agreements help to level the international playing field and boost American exports, create manufacturing jobs, and strengthen the U.S. economy.”

Among the various negotiating objectives included in the bill is textile-specific language addressing the need for fair market access in trade negotiations.
 

Subparagraph 2(b)(18) of the bill reads:
 

Textile Negotiations: The principal negotiating objectives with respect to trade in textiles and apparel are to obtain opportunities for U.S. exports of textiles and apparel in foreign markets substantially equivalent to the competitive opportunities afforded foreign exports in U.S. markets and to achieve fairer and more open conditions of trade in textiles and apparel.

Trade Promotion Authority expired in 2007, during the Bush Administration, but continued to apply to agreements already under negotiation through 2011. The Obama administration began seeking renewal of the authority in 2012.

 

Source: NCTO and eTC archives