WASHINGTON — October 5, 2015 — We, the trade ministers of Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, United States, and Vietnam, are pleased to announce that we have successfully concluded the Trans-Pacific Partnership. After more than five years of intensive negotiations, we have come to an agreement that will support jobs, drive sustainable growth, foster inclusive development, and promote innovation across the Asia-Pacific region. Most importantly, the agreement achieves the goal we set forth of an ambitious, comprehensive, high standard and balanced agreement that will benefit our nation’s citizens.
 
TPP brings higher standards to nearly 40 percent of the global economy. In addition to liberalizing trade and investment between us, the agreement addresses the challenges our stakeholders face in the 21st century, while taking into account the diversity of our levels of development.  We expect this historic agreement to promote economic growth, support higher-paying jobs; enhance innovation, productivity and competitiveness; raise living standards; reduce poverty in our countries; and to promote transparency, good governance, and strong labor and environmental protections.
 
To formalize the outcomes of the agreement, negotiators will continue technical work to prepare a complete text for public release, including the legal review, translation, and drafting and verification of the text.  We look forward to engaging with stakeholders on the specific features of this agreement and undergoing the domestic processes to put the agreement in place.
                        
Posted October 5, 2015

Source: USTR
 

Washington — October 5, 2015 — Responding to the announcement that the Obama Administration has successfully concluded the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), NCTO expresses gratitude to U.S. negotiators for their close cooperation on key issues in the textile chapter. The twelve nations who finalized the agreement include the United States, Australia, Brunei, Chile, Canada, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam. These countries represent nearly 40% of global gross domestic product.

Like all private sector stakeholders, NCTO is anxious to learn the exact details of the final TPP agreement. Once it is released to the public, NCTO will undertake a thorough analysis of the text to assess the impact of the agreement on domestic textile manufacturers.

“We would like to thank Ambassador Michael Froman and the U.S. government for working closely with NCTO throughout the entire TPP process,” said NCTO President Augustine Tantillo, who was in Atlanta for the talks.  “Though we are waiting to examine the final details, our briefings at the Atlanta TPP round lead us to believe that U.S. negotiators were able to achieve a well balanced and reasonable outcome for U.S. textile manufacturers and our partners within the Western Hemisphere,” he continued.

In 2014, textile and apparel exports from the current TPP countries to the U.S. totaled $19 billion. Tantillo stated, “Due to the sheer volume of trade covered by this agreement, it was critical that the final terms strongly reflect our input.  This included the need for TPP to establish a yarn forward system as the basis for rule of origin determinations and the setting of multi-year tariff phase-outs on sensitive textile and apparel products. Based on our debrief with the U.S. government in Atlanta we believe that, in great part, these key objectives were met.”

The U.S. textile and apparel industry is a significant contributor to the overall U.S. economy, producing over $70 billion in annual output and employing nearly 500,000 workers nationwide.  In addition, the U.S. textile and apparel sector exported nearly $24 billion in goods in 2014.

Posted October 5, 2015

Source: NCTO
 

WASHINGTON — September 25, 2015 — The National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) calls on the Obama Administration to utilize today’s visit with Chinese President  Xi Jinping to highlight the urgent need for substantial economic and trade policy reforms by China in order to help level the playing field for U.S. textile producers and other U.S. manufacturers.

From 1997-2008 the U.S. textile and apparel industry took a major hit at the hands of China’s economic policies, and hemorrhaged over a million jobs. Despite China’s continued unfair practices, since 2009 the industry has had steady growth in the key economic indicators of output, exports, and investment, and is now the third largest exporter of textiles and apparel in the world. Noting these facts, NCTO President Augustine Tantillo said “U.S. textile producers are world class competitors but we have no desire to compete with foreign governments. President Obama has a historic opportunity to work with the Chinese President on these important economic reforms to create a level playing field for U.S. textile manufacturers so that we are able to continue to maintain growth and be a substantial contributor to the U.S. economy.  NCTO strongly urges the President to capitalize on this important state visit.”

Tantillo urged President Obama to press President Xi on issues that directly affect the U.S. textile industry.  “The domestic textile industry has long fought for changes to China’s predatory trading practices including currency manipulation, illegal subsidizes, and intellectual property infringement. On behalf of the U.S. textile industry, I implore President Obama to address these critical issues with President Xi and urge immediate policy reform.”  Tantillo went on to cite the recently filed World Trade Organization (WTO) case by the United States which challenges China’s export subsidy program as an illegal policy and specifically names textiles as a key benefactor of this program.

Posted September 29, 2015

Source: NCTO
 

MOUNT HOLLY, N.C. — September 23, 2015 — American & Efird (A&E) announced today it has achieved 100% zero waste to landfill in each of its United States manufacturing facilities as well as its two corporate office buildings. This significant environmental achievement is just the latest sustainability milestone, supporting A&E’s global Eco*Driven® initiative.
 
“We are very proud of our U.S. manufacturing operations. This achievement is the result of the hard work, commitment and dedication of our company leadership and our employees,” A&E CEO Fred Jackson said. “We are committed to the principle that practicing sustainability and corporate social responsibility is the right thing to do.”
 
A&E has followed Eco*Driven principles since their inception of the program in 1990.
 
“We started our environmental journey with a well-designed and organized company initiative of sustainability,” said John Eapen, Vice President of Environmental, Health and Safety/Sustainability. “Reaching 100% zero waste to landfill is a great milestone and is just one example of the many things we are doing as a company in our long-standing commitment to protecting our environment, from water conservation efforts, to state-of-the-art wastewater treatment facilities, to reducing our overall global carbon footprint.
 
Eapen continued, “Existing landfills are full and will continue costing companies more and more. By eliminating our landfill waste, we are not only being socially responsible, but fiscally responsible as well.”
 
A&E continues to abide by its pledge to create a better world through responsible corporate actions, environmentally protective efforts and numerous contributions to the communities in which it operates. It’s Eco*Driven® sustainability principles continue to be lauded by many brands and retailers around the globe, frequently using A&E as an example of how industries should view and implement environmental standards in their own business practices.

Posted September 29, 2015

Source: American & Efird