US Government Clears Barriers To Clothing Trade And Opens Up Market

On July 28th, a representative of the US garment manufacturing industry urged the US government to lift its export restraints on small and medium-sized garment manufacturers, help expand exports and create job opportunities. The group also suggested that the government should face up to the positive role of "third country exports" in the export and employment of the United States.

According to overseas media reports, the American Apparel&Footwear Association says its industry supports the government's proposed US export doubling plan.

However, in a proposal submitted to the US Department of Commerce, the association pointed out that the government should remove barriers to trade and further promote free trade and open the market.

The Obama administration consulted the US manufacturing industry on its proposed national export plan (NationalExportInitiative).

The plan is aimed at promoting American exports and creating jobs.

The goal is to double American exports by 2015.

The industry group, which represents American Apparel and footwear manufacturers, responded that the export doubling initiative was important for its members.

Kevin Burke, President of the organization, said: "opening up new markets for free flow of goods and improving existing trade will make American companies and their products more competitive in the global market." KevinBurke

However, in a submission to the Ministry of Commerce, the association said that the clothing industry in the United States, especially small and medium-sized enterprises, faced policy constraints in their exports.

In its ten recommendations listed in the submissions, the government first urged the government to relax its lending constraints on small and medium-sized garment enterprises.

Nate Hermann, vice president of the American Apparel and Footwear Association, told VOA that the government should first provide financial assistance to US exports, especially textile exports. NateHerman

"There are some regulatory or other obstacles," he said. "The small business administration and the US export and import bank are not allowed to lend loans to the American textile industry to help their products export."

This is because their products are imported into the United States after being made into clothing and footwear products overseas. "

The association said that the existing free trade agreements and trade preferences in the United States both included the contents of the promotion of the use of American textile products; in particular, the use of American textile products will enjoy tariff free preferences when entering the US market.

However, the association said that textile manufacturers in the United States had difficulty obtaining the export credit provided by the government, making it difficult for them to enjoy the benefits that free-trade agreements should have brought to them.

The industry association also urged the Congress to pass the negotiated but unresolved free trade agreement with Columbia, Panama and South Korea as soon as possible, while promoting plans such as Pan Pacific partners.

It believes that these free trade agreements and plans will open up larger markets for American goods.

This trade organization supporting free trade has also highlighted the problem it believes is neglected by the government for a long time, that is, the so-called "third party export".

Herman, vice president of the association, said: "this involves American brands, such as China's exports to third countries such as Europe, India and Brazil, but it has not returned to the United States.

We think this type of third party export is extremely important because it relates to hundreds of thousands of American jobs, and the clothing and footwear industry in the United States involves thousands of jobs.

But the US government has never touched on this issue.

Herman said, "third country exports" actually created a lot of high salary jobs for Americans in design, marketing, procurement, logistics and other aspects.

However, he pointed out that "third country exports" still face many obstacles, such as China made footwear in Europe, such as dumping charges, which not only harmed China's processors, but also damaged the brand of the United States.

"Technically speaking, these are Chinese made footwear products, because they are made in China," he said.

But they are the footwear products of the US brand. All the value-added parts except marketing are made in the United States, including marketing, R & D and design.

Therefore, we believe that the US government should also provide assistance to these so-called "third country exports".

He said that other industrialized countries could support their own brands in their export promotion programs, no matter what they were made in the end, while the United States was the only industrialized country that had not done so.

Herman said they will lobby the government and Congress on the commercial interests of the United States involved in "third country exports".