AAFA Supports TPP
The American Apparel & Footwear Association on Feb. 1 said it supports the Trans-Pacific Partnership (here), after sending some mixed signals about its level of support in the four months since the agreement’s release. The TPP could provide opportunities to compete, cut costs, and enter new markets for the clothing, shoe, and accessories industries, as nearly every U.S. job in those sectors depends on access to foreign customers and/or global supply chains, AAFA said. During a recent International Trade Commission hearing, an AAFA executive expressed concern that the pact’s “yarn forward” rule of origin—which requires that all textile and apparel products be made using yarns from TPP countries—could hurt Vietnamese textile exports (see 1601150055).
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While a wide range of travel goods and footwear are subject to more flexible rules of origin and immediate duty-free treatment, most apparel is pigeonholed by “extremely restrictive rules of origin and long duty phase-outs,” AAFA said. The group is optimistic that companies can capitalize on the agreement’s benefits “over time as they adapt their supply chains, new investments occur, trade patterns shift, and other countries join the TPP.” AAFA said TPP should remain up-to-date through its lifespan, and align with current and future free trade agreements. The organization also urged the Obama Administration to build Congressional support for TPP, and to ensure the agreement is implemented in a “clear and seamless manner.”