NCTO Praises The Reintroduction Of The Textile Enforcement And Security Act Of 2013

WASHINGTON, D.C. — November 20, 2013 — The National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) praises
the reintroduction of the Textile Enforcement and Security Act (TESA) in the 113th Congress.
Congressmen Tom Graves (R-GA-14) and Mike McIntyre (D-NC-7) reintroduced the bill in the House of
Representatives on November 20.  The bill seeks to increase U.S. Customs and Border Protection
enforcement activities as well as improve trade facilitation through enhanced targeting, increased
resources, and greater authority. 

“We commend Representatives Tom Graves and Mike McIntyre for their leadership in
reintroducing TESA in the House,” stated NCTO President Auggie Tantillo. “Proper enforcement of our
agreements and trade obligations is a basic necessity, not a luxury, in regard to U.S. trade
policy.   Enforcing these agreements must serve as a prerequisite in U.S. trade policy to
preserve nearly 500,000 U.S. jobs which rely on the domestic textile and apparel industry. As we
approach the finalization of the Trans-Pacific Partnership and the beginning of the Transatlantic
Trade and Investment Partnership, legislation such as TESA will help ensure that U.S. workers and
manufacturers have an opportunity to fairly compete in markets both at home and abroad.”

Due to the high-risk nature and the prevalence of fraud in textile and apparel imports, U.S.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) designated the textile industry as a Priority Trade Issue — yet
the industry continues to experience serious fraud, particularly in the CAFTA and NAFTA
regions.  As the third largest exporter of textile products in the world, with nearly $23
billion in exports in 2012, the U.S. textile industry depends on strong customs enforcement for its
livelihood. 

The TESA legislation addresses many of the industry’s key concerns by providing CBP with
expanded authority to better target fraudulent textile and apparel goods coming into the U.S.,
while also implementing additional tools and resources to increase the agency’s commercial
enforcement efforts and reduce the prevalence of fraud that creates an uneven playing field for the
U.S. textile industry.  

Reps. Graves and McIntyre  introduced TESA with the support of twenty-four total
members of Congress, three of whom sit on the House Ways and Means Committee, including Rep.
Sanford Bishop (D-GA-2), Rep. Howard Coble (R-NC-6), Rep. Doug Collins (R-GA-9), Rep. Renee Ellmers
(R-NC-2), Rep. Virginia Foxx (R-NC-5), Rep. Trey Gowdy (R-SC-4), Rep. George Holding (R-NC-13),
Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC-8), Rep. Hank Johnson (D-GA-4), Rep. Walter B. Jones (R-NC-3), Rep. Dan
Lipinski (D-IL-3), Rep. Jim McGovern (D-MA-2), Rep. Patrick McHenry (R-NC-10), Rep. Mark Meadows
(R-NC-11), Rep. Mike Michaud (D-ME-2), Rep. Bill Pascrell (D-NJ-9), Rep. Robert Pittenger (R-NC-9),
Charlie Rangel (D-NY-13), Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-CA-38), Rep. David Scott (D-GA-13), Rep. Lynn
Westmoreland (R-GA-3), and Rep. Joe Wilson (R-SC-2).

Posted November 26, 2013

Source: NCTO

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