California Apparel News

After years of negotiating a trade agreement between the United States and 11 other Pacific Rim countries, the U.S. government released the final text outlining the deal.

Many had a general idea of what the Trans-Pacific Partnership would look like, but this is the final word that puts everything into a clearer light.

For the apparel and textile industries, the trade accord is structured like other trade agreements. That means there is a yarn-forward provision that will keep Chinese textiles out of the equation unless they are in short supply within the free-trade region.

The National Council of Textile Organizations, based in Washington, D.C., and representing U.S. textile mills, said in a statement that it would start an exhaustive review of the agreement.

“Based on our generalized understanding of the final agreement reached last month, we believe that many of the U.S. textile industry’s key objectives have been met, including a yarn-forward rule of origin for most products and reasonable duty phase-outs for sensitive textile and apparel items,” NCTO said. “While we need to thoroughly familiarize ourselves with the fine details of the agreement, we feel that the U.S. government was able to achieve a well-balanced outcome for all parties, including U.S. textile manufacturers and our partners in the Western Hemisphere.”

The Retail Industry Leaders Association—a trade association in Arlington, Va., that represents more than 200 retailers, product manufacturers and service suppliers—said the TPP agreement will save American families hundreds of millions of dollars on tariffs and taxes that will be eliminated under the accord.

The free-trade agreement must be ratified by Congress before it can go into effect.

“Every member of Congress and their constituents now have the opportunity to read the text of the TPP agreement in its entirety. Retailers look forward to educating consumers and Congress on the benefits of free trade in the months ahead,” RILA said.