That data was put forward by Kim Glas, president and CEO of the National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO). China is the largest beneficiary of the de minimis loophole, she said. The exemption allows shipments valued at $800 or less come into the U.S. duty-free and with minimal to zero inspections.

“These entries are not subject to Section 301 duties and have been linked to Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) violations as well as dangerous and counterfeit goods and illicit drugs like fentanyl and precursors,” Glas told the U.S. Trade Representative’s Office (USTR) during the May 2 hearing.

NCTO is urging the administration to use its existing authorities to close the dangerous loophole, “and Congress must act immediately to pass legislation to completely close it,” Glas said.

 To reverse the current downward trajectory in U.S. textile manufacturing, Glas also recommended the administration: 

•    Dramatically ramp up and publicize customs enforcement and trade penalty activities

•    Preserve and protect the yarn forward rules of origin

•    Reject proposals to expand Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) product coverage to textiles or apparel

•    Immediately pass the Miscellaneous Tariff bill

•    Increase Section 301 penalties on textiles and apparel imports

•    Fully implement the Make PPE in America Act and expand procurement opportunities

•    Enhance tax incentives to bolster domestic and regional production

 “China is being highly strategic and purposeful in their quest for and success in gaining a stranglehold on the global supply of critical products like textiles,” she asserted. “The U.S. must be more deliberate moving forward and not leave this challenge by an increasingly hostile geopolitical rival unanswered.”

In the past few months, 14 U.S. textile factories have been permanently shuttered and an estimated 100,000 jobs have been lost in the U.S. and broader hemisphere, she said.

 

 

Source:Home Textile Today