US Textile Groups Urge Trade Committees to Push for Elimination of NAFTA TPLs
Domestic textile groups called for bipartisan backing from the Senate Finance and House Ways and Means committees to support their effort to eliminate the tariff preference level (TPL) system for textiles in NAFTA. In an Oct. 2 letter to the chairmen and ranking members of both committees, the groups note that recent reports have indicated that a removal of NAFTA’s TPLs “was discussed” during the most recent negotiation round in Ottawa. “TPLs are a blanket exception to the yarn-forward origin rule that diverts critical benefits under the agreement to non-NAFTA parties, namely China,” the leaders wrote. “This origin loophole allows product to be shipped duty free among the NAFTA parties, although none of the textile components are required to originate within the NAFTA region.”
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It is estimated that $16.7 billion worth of textile products have been exported duty-free to the U.S. since NAFTA’s entry into force, “none” of which are required to contain “any” U.S. textile components, the industry groups said. “Importers and retailers need no further incentive to disenfranchise U.S. products and workers in favor of textile components from Asia that are often artificially priced due to substandard labor practices, substandard environmental practices, rampant intellectual property violations, and state sponsored subsidies,” they said. Signers of the letter included the National Council of Textile Organizations, the National Cotton Council and the American Fiber Manufacturers Association. The Finance and Ways and Means committees didn't immediately comment.
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