Textile Producers Say They'll Lobby for USMCA Passage
The National Council of Textile Organizations announced Dec. 6 that it endorses the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement, and will lobby for it. The organization said the U.S. exported $11.8 billion in textiles within the NAFTA region in 2017. The trade group…
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views USMCA as an improvement on NAFTA because the rewrite has stronger rules of origin for sewing thread, pocketing, narrow elastics and some coated fabrics; it has stronger customs enforcement rules; and it closes what NCTO calls the Kissell Amendment loophole. The Kissell Amendment, which covers Department of Homeland Security uniform and body armor purchases, allows sourcing from NAFTA partners, not just American producers. According to a 2017 GAO report, 58 percent of DHS spending on uniform body armor procurement is for imported items. If USMCA becomes law, apparel purchased for the agency will have to be sewn in the U.S., an NCTO spokesman said. He said the change affects "more than $30 million worth of contracts on an annual basis."