WASHINGTON — October 3, 2011 — United States Trade Representative Ron Kirk today called for swift
congressional action on legislation for pending trade agreements between the United States and
South Korea, Colombia, and Panama, along with renewal of Trade Adjustment Assistance reforms and
expired trade preference programs. President Barack Obama formally submitted the legislation for
the three pending trade agreements to Congress today.  

“Growing American exports to South Korea, Colombia, and Panama will support tens of thousands
of jobs here at home. We must take every opportunity to get America back to work, and Congress
should pass these agreements without delay,” said Ambassador Kirk. “The House should also support
jobs for American workers by supporting targeted assistance and training for those who may be
displaced by trade. Taken together, the pending trade agreements and Trade Adjustment Assistance
advance a balanced trade agenda that opens new markets for our exporters and new opportunities for
America’s working families.” 

Under Trade Promotion Authority already granted by Congress, the legislation for the trade
agreements may not be amended, and Congress has 90 days to hold up-or-down votes on each. 
Changes to the legislation would make it subject to normal rules and procedures, including
amendment and filibuster.

In 2010 and 2011, the Obama Administration worked with South Korea, Colombia, and Panama to
successfully address outstanding issues related to each of the three agreements. In particular, the
Administration secured: greater U.S. access to the South Korean auto market; significantly
increased labor rights and worker protections in Colombia; and enhanced tax transparency and labor
rights in Panama. The Administration has been clear that once approved by Congress, agreements will
enter into force only if trading partners are meeting their commitments; for instance, Colombia
must successfully implement key elements of the agreed Action Plan Related to Labor Rights before
the U.S.-Colombia trade agreement will enter into force. Colombia has met all milestones to date as
specified in the Action Plan, including enactment of several far-reaching reforms.

Legislation for the U.S.-Colombia trade agreement also includes a renewal of the Andean Trade
Preferences Act. ATPA was enacted in December 1991 to help Andean countries in their fight against
drug production and trafficking by expanding their economic alternatives.

Late last month, the Senate approved legislation to renew the Generalized System of
Preferences and also to streamline and save costs on a renewal of Trade Adjustment Assistance
reforms. The Senate has sent that legislation to the House, where the Speaker has committed to its
consideration in tandem with the pending trade agreements.

The Generalized System of Preferences expired in December 2010. It promotes economic growth
in the developing world by providing preferential duty-free entry for products from designated
beneficiary countries and territories; GSP also supports American jobs and improves American
competitiveness as many American businesses use GSP imports as inputs to manufacture goods in the
United States.

TAA provides training and support for American workers who are negatively affected by trade
and is traditionally in place as trade agreements pass. It is designed to help workers, firms,
farmers and fishermen transition to alternative employment. The bipartisan compromise negotiated by
Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-Mont.) and House Ways & Means Committee
Chairman Dave Camp (R-Mich.) is consistent with the goals of the 2009 law that improved the scope
and effectiveness of the program – for instance, covering Americans employed in the services sector
in addition to U.S. manufacturing workers. TAA is an essential component of President Obama’s
balanced trade agenda.



Posted on October 4, 2011

Source: USTR

Hollingsworth & Vose Co. (H&V) — an East Walpole, Mass.-based provider of engine, high
efficiency air and liquid filter media, battery separator materials and industrial nonwovens — has
been awarded a $750,000 grant from the Virginia Tobacco Indemnification and Community
Revitalization Commission to be used for research and development (R&D) in various filtration
markets.

The Tobacco Commission aims to boost economic revitalization of tobacco-dependent regions by
providing grant funding to companies in Virginia involved in applied research that have significant
commercialization potential. H&V’s manufacturing facility in Floyd, Va., is located within
Floyd County, which is within the tobacco-growing region and eligible to sponsor grants. H&V
submitted the R&D grant proposal through the Floyd County Economic Development Authority.

H&V operates manufacturing sites and research centers in the United States, Europe and
Asia.

September 27, 2011

BANGKOK, Thailand — 21 September 2011 — Indorama Ventures Public Company Limited, the world’s
leading vertically integrated Polyester Value Chain producer, has signed an agreement to acquire
Wellman International’s recycling business in Europe from AURELIUS AG, to pursue customers’
sustainability needs and meet the demands of consumers for more recycling of post consumer
products.

The Company’s Board of Directors approved a management proposal to acquire from AURELIUS AG
the businesses of Wellman International Limited and its related company, MJR Recycling BV as this
will be strategically in line with the Company’s objectives of long-term sustainability and an
overall lowering of the Company’s impact on the environment globally.

The acquisition is expected to be completed within 2011, subject to necessary regulatory
approvals, and will provide access to proven recycling technology and the potential for a
technology transfer to the Company’s Asian assets with a reduced learning curve.

“This is a very exciting project for us,” said Group CEO Mr. Aloke Lohia. “The target
acquisition has the know-how to blend recycled PET (rPET) and industrial waste and will potentially
contribute to make Indorama Ventures a ‘zero waste’ company with a low carbon footprint able to
serve both the beverage and fiber segments of our customer base.”

Wellman International is Europe’s largest recycler of PET (polyethylene terephthalate)
bottles as well as a leading European producer of polyester staple fibre products and rPET. It
enjoys a unique position in that Europe’s market environment highly values recycled and green
products. It is a pioneer in recycling and most reputed bottle-to-bottle and bottle-to-fiber
recycler with its own unique technology, capable of producing very high quality materials, such as
for the hygiene sector.

Wellman International has three production facilities in Europe with over 153,000 tons of
output each year: a polyester fiber plant based in Mullagh, the Republic of Ireland and recycling
plants at Spijk in the Netherlands and Verdun in France. The plant in Ireland is capable of
converting waste polyester into 100% recycled fiber. Post Recycled Bottles (PCB) are flaked and
processed with other waste material to produce bottles and fibers that can be used in a variety of
premium applications.

“The project will act as a springboard to launch IVL into rPET following our ongoing
construction of recycling plants in Decatur, USA and Rayong, Thailand,” Lohia said. “As this is the
largest recycling capacity in the whole of Europe we will have both economies of scale and lower
production costs to serve our customers in both the bottle and fiber segments. We will be able to
meet our customer expectations to assist them achieve their sustainability goals effectively
throughout the continent. With a comprehensive European network for bottle sourcing and good supply
chain efficiencies, we feel that it will contribute as an attractive platform for strong future
growth in the sustainable recycling business with the potential to expand this business further
around the world.”

Posted September 27, 2011

Source: Indorama Ventures

The American Textile History Museum (ATHM), Lowell, Mass., recently inducted three textile industry
leaders — Stephanie Kwolek, Elliott White Springs and Robert Ten Broeck Stevens — into the American
Textile Hall of Fame’s (ATHF’s) Class of 2011. ATHF recognizes individuals, corporations and
institutions that have made significant contributions to the U.S. textile industry.

Stephanie Kwolek began working in Wilmington, Del.-based DuPont’s textile fibers research
laboratory in 1946, and in 1971, she developed Kevlar®, a para-aramid fiber that is exceptionally
strong and used in various consumer and industrial applications including military and law
enforcement protection. Kwolek was the fourth female member inducted into the National Inventors
Hall of Fame in 1994, and was awarded the National Medal of Technology in 1996 and the Perkin Medal
in 1997. Now retired, Kwolek currently serves on the National Research Council and National Academy
of Sciences and works as a consultant for DuPont.

Elliott White Springs took over Springs Cotton Mills — now known as Springs Creative Products
Group LLC, Rock Hill, S.C., a supplier of retail fabrics, packaged craft kits and home products —
from his father in 1931 and transformed the business despite the Great Depression. Springs
consolidated five existing run-down mills into one company, built a finishing plant, established a
sales organization and modernized the business. His unique Springmaid advertising campaign remains
one of the most notable in the history of advertising in the United States. During his 28 years of
leadership, the company’s assets increased by $125.5 million and its sales increased by $176
million. When he died in 1959, Springs Cotton Mills was the seventh-largest textile company in the
United States. Springs was an accomplished aviator, having served in WWI, during which he was the
fifth-ranked Flying Ace and received the British Distinguished Flying Cross and the American
Distinguished Service Cross; and also served in WWII as lieutenant colonel. He also authored nine
books, three screenplays and many short stories.

Robert Ten Broeck Stevens joined J.P. Stevens and Co. Inc., a North Andover, Mass.-based
woolen mill, in 1921 and became president upon his father’s death in 1929. During his tenure, the
company experienced strong growth grew from a regional textile organization to a leader in U.S.
textiles. His many outside activities included a term as Chairman of the New York Federal Reserve
Bank; Colonel in the Army’s Quartermaster Corps concentrating on military textile requirements;
Secretary of the Army under President Eisenhower; and principal in the Army-McCarthy hearings, in
which he supported military personnel. Stevens became Chairman of the company in 1955 and served
until his retirement in 1965.

“Each of these honorees has had a profound impact on the textile industry in unique ways,”
said Jim Coleman, president and CEO, ATHM. “They are worthy of great recognition for contributions
they made to shape the history and future of textiles, and we are honored to pay tribute to their
achievements.”

September 27, 2011

Hyosung, the largest spandex producer in the world, has begun production of creora® spandex in the
newest plant located in Araquari in the Santa Catarina region of Brazil. There are Hyosung creora®
spandex plants in South Korea, China (3 plants), Turkey and Vietnam. Hyosung opened the factories
in Turkey & Vietnam in 2008 and the Brazil plant will officially open this September.

“We are excited to begin production in our phase I $100 million dollar investment in Brazil
for 10,000 tons. Many Brazilian and South American brands and retailers require production
proximity for speed to market, so we are now better positioned to ensure fast delivery to these
regions.

We have plans for additional investment to achieve production of 150,000 tons total because
we believe that demand for spandex will continue. We want to offer the best combination of
innovation with best quality through our state of the art, patented manufacturing processes for our
customers to continue to grow and thrive.” said President Whang of Hyosung’s Spandex Performance
Unit.

September 27, 2011

Switzerland-based Huntsman Corp. has announced plans to restructure its Textile Effects business in
order to improve its long-term global competitiveness. The changes could include closing production
and support offices in Basel affecting some 600 employees. Up to 500 positions may be eliminated,
and 100 jobs may move to other Huntsman locations worldwide. However, the company reports it is
committed to innovation and will not make any changes within the Textile Effects Research &
Technology department based in Basel. In addition, the restructuring may also include 100 new
positions in key markets. All changes are scheduled to occur before the end of 2013, and the
company has begun talks with labor representatives.

“We need to take bold action to fundamentally improve the poor financial performance of our
Textile Effects division,” said Peter R. Huntsman, president and CEO, Huntsman Corp. “We’ve made
extensive and costly efforts to boost this division’s competitiveness since acquiring the business
in 2006, but as customers and competitors alike have increasingly moved their centers of business
to Asia, we must realign ourselves according to these industry trends. The recent strengthening of
the Swiss franc has greatly impacted our cost structure in Switzerland, which just serves to
reinforce the need for realignment.”

“The planned restructuring builds on the difficult, but successful changes undertaken in the
last few years and is designed to ensure that the TE Business is strongly positioned to compete
successfully against the ever increasing Asian competitor base and deliver long-term profitable
growth for our shareholders and associates,” said Paul Hulme, president, Huntsman Textile Effects.
“Also, importantly from a customer perspective, in case of a possible closure, the transition of
production to other Huntsman sites will be carefully phased, ensuring continued product
availability and deliveries. We will, of course, manage this process openly and fairly, treating
our employees with the dignity and respect they deserve.”

September 27, 2011

Researchers at North Carolina State University (NC State) have developed a nanofiber production
technique that can significantly increase output compared with traditional needle electrospinning
(TNE) and allow industrial-scale production of nanofibers comparable in quality to those formed
using TNE.

The research team includes Dr. Russell E. Gorga, associate professor, Textile Engineering,
Chemistry and Science, and program director of Textile Engineering; Dr. Laura I. Clarke, associate
professor, Physics; Dr. Jason Bochinski, research assistant professor, Physics; and Nagarajan
Thoppey Muthuraman, graduate research assistant. The team reported its findings in a paper titled
“Edge electrospinning for high throughput production of quality nanofibers,” published in the
journal “Nanotechnology.”

Nanofibers can be integrated in nonwoven fabrics used in filtration, energy storage, tissue
regeneration and other applications. TNE creates high-quality, relatively inexpensive nanofibers,
but the process is time-intensive and not very efficient. More efficient technologies are
available, but Gorga said there have been limitations, including inconsistent nanofiber diameters,
associated with various methods.

“We have been trying to come up with a process that is not sensitive to the type of solvent
or polymer system used,” Gorga said. In experiments conducted using equipment designed and
fabricated in-house, the team worked with two polymer types that had different viscosities and
solvent volatility.

The technique involves electrospinning from the edge of a bowl filled with a polymer
solution whose surface is hit with a short, high-voltage burst that causes simultaneous formation
of jets that migrate to approximately equidistant positions on the bowl’s edge and spin nanofibers
onto a cylindrical collector surrounding the bowl. The technique produced 40 times the number of
nanofibers produced using TNE and showed potential for even higher output.

Nanofibers produced ranged from 100 to 200 nanometers (nm) in diameter, and Gorga said the
process can be tuned to produce a specified diameter. “One caveat of high-throughput technologies
is that some of the data show they’re not really producing submicron-diameter fibers. We don’t want
to compromise the diameter because there’s a push to go even smaller – to 50 nm or even 10 nm.”

The project received funding from the National Science Foundation and NC State’s Faculty
Research and Professional Development Fund.

September/October 2011