The Textile and Apparel Alliance for TPP (TAAT), a coalition of fiber, textile and apparel
organizations representing 30 countries in the Americas and Africa, has written a letter to United
States Trade Representative (USTR) Ron Kirk urging inclusion in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)
agreement of textile rules that support manufacturing jobs, private industry and exports from
free-market economies.
TAAT members include the American Fiber Manufacturers Association, American Manufacturing
Trade Action Coalition, National Cotton Council, National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO),
National Textile Association and United States Industrial Fabrics Institute; as well as
associations from Mexico, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, the Central America-Dominican Republic Free
Trade Agreement region, and 19 countries in the Africa and Middle East area. The alliance reports
exports from its members to the United States have grown by $2.7 billion over the past three years,
while U.S. exports to alliance members have grown by $2.9 billion over the same period.
In its letter to Kirk, the alliance notes that its textile and apparel supply chain, which
employs almost two million manufacturing workers and farmers, is threatened by TPP partner country
Vietnam’s request “for country-of-origin rules for textiles that would uniquely benefit Vietnam and
which are far weaker than the long standing origin rules in existing U.S. free trade agreements
(FTAs) and preference arrangements. These rules would provide Vietnam’s state-owned apparel
manufacturers with direct access to China’s massive state-run textile enterprises to create apparel
and other products that would then be duty-free into all other TPP countries.”
The letter continues: “We urge you to continue to press for textile rules that will grow
manufacturing jobs in the United States and in our countries. In particular, we support a yarn
forward rule coupled with strong customs enforcement rules and resources which will ensure that
third parties, such as China, do not take advantage of a final agreement. In addition, we feel it
is essential that the agreement include realistic market access rules and other mechanisms to help
counter-balance the government of Vietnam’s historic support for its textile and apparel sector.”
NCTO President Cass Johnson said the alliance’s makeup and position on the TPP textile rules
“demonstrate how important it is to get these negotiations right, both for us and for our trading
partners. These negotiations are our first priority, and it’s a high priority as well for other
groups that are not associated with the TPP. They will also be affected by it, and it is important
for the administration to realize this and to listen to all who will be affected when deciding what
the final rules will be.”
It is hoped the TPP agreement will be finalized this year. Kirk has reaffirmed the need for
strong textile rules in the TPP, Johnson noted.
March/April 2012
