INDA, Association of the Nonwoven Fabrics Industry, has announced that its International Trade Advisory Board (ITAB) has adopted two new position statements on global trade issues that have the potential of impacting the nonwoven fabrics industry.

The first statement, ITAB Support for All U.S. Free Trade Agreements, was developed in response to the recent proliferation of bilateral and regional United States free trade pacts.  The position statement outlines three key elements that the ITAB will look for when determining whether it will lend its support to any proposed free trade agreement that involves the United States.  The necessary elements, as outlined in the position statement, include: 1) ambitious market access obligations; 2) industry appropriate rules of origin; and 3) stringent intellectual property standards.

In commenting on this position statement, Peter Mayberry, INDA’s Director of Government Affairs noted that, Even though we have articulated these three requirements to US trade officials for some time now, INDA’s ITAB wanted a statement that clearly spells out our negotiating objectives for ongoing and future free trade talks.  That is exactly what this document is intended to do.”

The second position statement, Implications of Any New Country’s Entry into the WTO, outlines the ITAB’s response to growing membership in the World Trade Organization.  Indeed, the WTO is reportedly on the verge of admitting its 149th member country, Saudi Arabia, and 30 other countries are actively trying to join.

The ITAB wholeheartedly supports efforts to expand the multilateral trading system,” said ITAB Chairman Gonzalo Castro with CardinalHealth. Our only concern is that prospective members are held to the same level of commitment with regards to things like market access, rule of law and intellectual property rights that is expected of the United States and other existing members.”  The document explains the ITAB’s plan to serve as a conduit between the nonwoven fabrics industry and US officials to communicate any potential concerns about the conduct of prospective WTO members.