A US/Peru free trade agreement (FTA)
is now before Congress, and it has the strong support of textile manufacturers. Cass Johnson,
president of the Washington-based National Council of Textile Organizations, said its members like
the agreement and hope it will serve as a “template” for agreements with the other Andean nations —
Colombia, Bolivia and Ecuador. The agreement has a yarn-forward rule of origin; no tariff
preference levels allowing use of inputs from nonparticipating countries and calls for strong US
Customs enforcement — all provisions the US textile industry has sought in other free trade
agreements. Calling the Peruvian FTA a “very good agreement,” US Trade Representative Rob Portman
said “it is a very important part of our Andean Pact free trade strategy.”
January 26, 2006
is now before Congress, and it has the strong support of textile manufacturers. Cass Johnson,
president of the Washington-based National Council of Textile Organizations, said its members like
the agreement and hope it will serve as a “template” for agreements with the other Andean nations —
Colombia, Bolivia and Ecuador. The agreement has a yarn-forward rule of origin; no tariff
preference levels allowing use of inputs from nonparticipating countries and calls for strong US
Customs enforcement — all provisions the US textile industry has sought in other free trade
agreements. Calling the Peruvian FTA a “very good agreement,” US Trade Representative Rob Portman
said “it is a very important part of our Andean Pact free trade strategy.”
January 26, 2006