Lawmakers Urge Flexible Rules for Trans-Pacific Partnership FTA
A bipartisan group of lawmakers sent a letter to President Obama asking for more-flexible trade rules on textile and apparel goods under the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade agreement, currently under negotiation.
Fifteen senators signed off on the letter, which follows a similar request from 30 members of the House last year.
At issue is the TPP’s yarn-forward clause, which requires goods be made from regional yarn in order to qualify for duty-free status for goods traveling between member countries, which include Brunei, Chile, New Zealand, Singapore, Australia, Malaysia, Peru, Japan, Vietnam and the United States.
The National Retail Federation issued a statement applauding the recent letter to the president. NRF representatives called the yarn-forward requirement “onerous” and pushed for reform of “anti-free-trade restrictions,” which “hinder new trade and investment under this agreement.”
“We are reaching critical mass to reform the onerous yarn-forward rule, which protects one industry at the expense of consumers, retailers, and the promotion of new trade, investment and economic growth,” said Erik Autor, NRF vice president and international-trade counsel. “There is now strong bipartisan and bicameral support for more progressive and realistic rules-of-origin standards in the TPP negotiations and other trade agreements that are more consistent with the administration’s goal of making the TPP a 21st-century trade agreement.”
According to the NRF, 98 percent of all apparel sold in the United States is produced abroad, and many international sewing production centers lack “significant” yarn and fabric-production capacity, making the yarn-forward requirement “often impossible to meet.”
The American Apparel & Footwear Association also issued a statement in support of the senators’ letter. “When we get dressed each day, we wear more than just clothes and shoes. We wear the 4 million U.S. jobs that made those clothes and shoes possible through design, manufacturing, distribution, marketing and more,” said AAFA President and Chief Executive Officer Kevin M. Burke.
“I urge the Obama administration to carefully consider the new approach outlined in this letter and work with our trade partners to achieve an agreement constructed with rules that will work today and tomorrow for U.S. workers, U.S. businesses and the U.S. economy.”
The letters and industry support come as negotiators prepare for the next round of talks concerning TPP, which are being held May 8–18 in Dallas.—Alison A. Nieder
