‘US customs commit industrial espionage’ claims Euratex
Euratex, the European Textile and Clothing industry association, has set forth its position on the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) as the seventh round of talks gets under way in the US.
It sees the negotiations as an “excellent opportunity for facilitating trade to the mutual benefit of European and American companies” and calls for the elimination of technical barriers that hamper our reciprocal trade flows.
However, it has stated an opposing position to some US rules, including the notion of placing a ‘country of origin’ label inside the neckline of garments, which it thinks should be voluntary, and says that the Berry Amendment (that states US armed forces should procure domestically) should be scrapped.
“The European industry is very concerned by the fact that US trade representatives along with all US stakeholders have expressed their total opposition to open public procurement, including government procurement of textiles and clothing. Euratex believes that a comprehensive partnership cannot be achieved if no access is granted to government procurement,” it said.
It also complains that the US Harmonized Tariff Schedule is too complex and EU manufacturers end up using the services of customs brokers. “Apparel exporters have reported to Euratex that the costs can be up to 20% more on top of customs duties,” it said. “This does not prevent misclassification that leads to fines, penalties and delays.”
Euratex also claims that confidential business information is being sold by US customs officials.
“Sensitive information such as lists of suppliers and pricing information is often sold to competitors as business intelligence information. In certain cases, the European T&C industry considers this to be industrial espionage and would like this concern raised with the US customs authorities in order to find a way to eliminate these unfair practices.”
