US: Textile and footwear bodies welcome NAFTA renegotiation announcement
23/05/2017
Matt Priest, president of the Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America (FDRA), said: “FDRA stands ready to work with the administration on ways to modernize and strengthen NAFTA, including seeking more flexible trading rules that reflect our modern global footwear supply chain. Mexico and Canada are key partners for the US footwear industry, and updating the agreement to provide flexibilities that incentivize a new and improved NAFTA will ultimately deliver greater benefits to US footwear consumers.“
In a similar vein, the president of the Council of Textile Organizations described the move as “in America’s interest”.
Auggie Tantillo said: “NAFTA is vital to the prosperity of the U.S. textile industry, and NCTO steadfastly supports continuing the agreement. With that said, NAFTA can be improved to incentivize more textile and apparel jobs and production in the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
“Eliminating loopholes that shift production to third-party countries like China and devoting more customs enforcement resources to stop illegal third-country transshipments are two changes that would make the agreement better.”
The value of shipments for US textiles and apparel was $74.4 billion last year, an 11% increase since 2009. US exports of fibre, textiles and apparel were $26.3 billion in 2016.
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