PIKEVILLE, Tenn. — July 24, 2017 — Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam, Department of Economic and Community Development Commissioner Bob Rolfe and Textile Corp. of America Inc. officials today announced the company will locate its headquarters and manufacturing facility in Pikeville.

Textile Corp. of America will invest approximately $27.1 million and create 1,000 new jobs in Bledsoe County, representing the largest private investment in Bledsoe County’s history.

“We want to welcome Textile Corp. of America to Tennessee and thank the company for locating its new operations here, creating 1,000 jobs in Pikeville and making this historic investment for not only Bledsoe County but Tennessee as a whole,” Haslam said. “Tennessee’s central location and established workforce make it a prime location for companies like Textile Corp. of America to set up manufacturing operations. By choosing Pikeville, Textile Corp. of America is helping us get one step closer to our goal of making Tennessee the No. 1 location in the Southeast for high quality jobs.”

A leading textile manufacturer, Textile Corp. of America utilizes state-of-the-art plants and machinery to produce quality industrial and institutional textile products including apparel, bedding, healthcare, hospitality, and kitchen linens. Textile Corp. of America will locate its headquarters and manufacturing facility in the Bledsoe County Industrial Building in Pikeville. The existing building is 186,000 square feet, including offices, and sits on 16 acres.

The leadership team of Textile Corp. of America has both an unparalleled experience in manufacturing textiles around the world for the past four decades and an unwavering commitment to restoring America’s historic place as a global manufacturing center.

Last week, Gov. Haslam announced that Tennessee’s unemployment rate for June was the lowest in recorded state history. At 3.6 percent, June’s rate declined from the revised rate of 4.0 percent in May. Meanwhile, U.S. jobless rate increased to 4.4 percent in June from 4.3 percent in May. Bledsoe County’s current unemployment rate is 4.5 percent.

“Tennessee’s unemployment rate wouldn’t be where it is today if it weren’t for the many outstanding companies that choose to call Tennessee home,” Rolfe said. “While we are certainly proud of the decline in our unemployment rate, we know there are areas of our state where Tennesseans struggle to find jobs. Textile Corp. of America’s commitment to create 1,000 jobs in Bledsoe County, a Tier 4 Distressed county, will have an incredible impact on the community and surrounding area. We appreciate the company’s investment in our state and look forward to building a lasting partnership in the future.”

“I could not be happier that my home state of Tennessee is leading the renaissance of American manufacturing with the announcement of this facility today,” Chattanooga businessman and Textile Corp. of America owner Ed Cagle said. “We are proud to call Pikeville, Tennessee home to our new mill. Millions of dollars of investment and the creation of a thousand jobs will be transformative to this county and region.”

Local officials thanked Textile Corp. of America for its investment and new jobs in Bledsoe County.

“This is an exciting time for Bledsoe County,” Bledsoe County Mayor Gregg Ridley said. “As mayor of a Tier 4 economically distressed county, getting 1,000 local jobs is a pivotal moment in time for our citizens and an answer to many prayers. I welcome Textile Corp. of America to our community and trust they will experience many years of prosperity.”

“We are so excited about the recent news for our town and county. It has been a long time coming and we want to thank everyone for their hard work and not giving up on bringing jobs to our area,” Pikeville Mayor Philip Cagle said. “We look forward to working with our new friends and for a long successful journey. We are thrilled for the future of our town and the jobs that this company is bringing to Bledsoe County and the surrounding counties.”

“Congratulations to Textile Corp. of America on its decision to locate a new facility in Pikeville, Tennessee,” John Bradley, TVA senior vice president of economic development, said. “TVA and Sequachee Valley Electric Cooperative are privileged to partner with the State of Tennessee, the City of Pikeville and Bledsoe County to help companies create new jobs and prosperity in the community.”

Pikeville and Bledsoe County are represented by Sen. Paul Bailey (R, Sparta) and Rep. Ron Travis (R, Dayton) in the Tennessee General Assembly.

July 24, 2017

Source: Tennessee Department of Economic and Community Development

ABINGDON, Md. — July 24, 2017 — Representatives of the Secondary Materials and Recycled Textiles Association (SMART) recently testified in front of the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) to object to a proposed ban on secondhand clothing imports from the U.S. by members of the East African Community (EAC). SMART, a trade association, acted on behalf of its numerous small and medium-sized member companies who use, convert and recycle pre-and post-consumer textiles, including used clothing.

SMART’s testimony was delivered on July 13 before an interagency panel conducting an out-of-cycle review hearing under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), a trade preference program that gives trade preference to numerous African nations. The hearing was held in response to a petition filed by SMART in March 2017 asking the U.S. government to conduct an out-of-cycle review of the AGOA beneficiary status of Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda and Uganda. SMART filed the petition in light of a March 2016 announcement that those countries would begin phasing in a ban on imports of secondhand clothing and subsequent related import duty increases on these goods.

The testimony on behalf of SMART specifically targeted EAC countries Tanzania, Rwanda and Uganda. Although Kenya recently rolled back these duties, in its testimony, SMART representatives called upon the U.S. government to include Kenya in this review until the association could confirm that reported minimum tariffs on containers of used goods will not be implemented in a manner that negates a July 1 rollback of Kenya’s tariff increases.

As SMART representatives noted in their testimony, AGOA requires beneficiary countries to have established or to be making “progress toward establishing …” a “market-based economy” and “the elimination of barriers to U.S. trade.” The association pointed out that the countries subject to this review (and perhaps Kenya) are erecting new barriers to U.S. trade in used clothing, and that the tariff increases and import ban “do not manifest progress toward market-based economies.”

Representatives advised the panel of the dramatic negative impact the additional duties imposed on used clothing exports is already having on the textile recycling industry, as evidenced by a recent survey of SMART members. These results demonstrated a marked decline in business with EAC member countries and a corresponding fall in employment within the United States. Namely, the survey found:

• 40 percent of survey respondents have reduced employment by at least 25 percent since the 2016 tariff increases.
• 88 percent of survey respondents have experienced a revenue reduction of at least 25 percent since the tariff increases.
• More than 52 percent of survey respondents say they would be forced to reduce their number of employees by at least 50 percent if the full ban were implemented.
• More than 94 percent of survey respondents said a full ban would cause them to experience a 25 percent to 75 percent reduction of revenues.

SMART representatives reported that industry-wide, there are at least 40,000 U.S. jobs within the private sector and another 150,000 jobs in the not-for-profit sector that stand to be negatively impacted by the import ban. The estimated value of U.S.-sourced used clothing that flows through third countries into Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda and Kenya is $100 million. In short, the total value of exports to the EAC represents $124 million, or about 22 percent, of the U.S. industry’s total exports.

In addition, representatives noted before the panel that the Salvation Army, Goodwill Industries and other partner charities stand to lose millions of dollars because elimination of the EAC markets will depress prices for used clothing.

SMART representatives questioned the claims that used clothing imports account for a decline in local textile industries, stating that decline is due more to the 2005 termination of the Multi Fiber Agreement. Once the MFA was terminated, African markets were deluged by cheap new clothing imports from countries like China.

During the hearing, SMART representatives clarified that the request is for a suspension of duty-free status for all currently eligible apparel imports from these countries, rather than a request that any EAC countries be removed from AGOA beneficiary status.

“We are grateful for USTR’s diligence in ensuring AGOA eligibility standards are met,” says SMART Executive Director Jackie King. “For so many in these countries who are existing on the equivalent of $1.00 – $2.00 or less per day, secondhand clothing and shoes provide their only meaningful access to quality apparel. We are now awaiting a final determination from the U.S. government, and it is our hope that a resolution can be reached with all the EAC member countries to benefit our industry as well as the people of the EAC.”

Posted July 24, 2017

Source: The Secondary Materials and Recycled Textiles Association (SMART)