Lauding US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer for setting July 1 as the implementation date of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), textile executives are stressing the critical importance of moving ahead with the agreement now that the United States has taken the necessary final procedural steps, the National Council of Textile Organisations (NCTO) said recently.
“We commend Ambassador Lighthizer for moving forward with USMCA, a critical trade deal that will greatly benefit the US textile industry at a time when domestic producers—facing significant challenges due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic--have mobilized to convert their production lines to manufacturing personal protective equipment (PPE) for frontline workers during this crisis,” said NCTO president and chief executive officer Kim Glas in a statement.Lauding US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer for setting July 1 as the implementation date of the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement, textile executives are stressing the critical importance of moving ahead with the agreement now that the United States has taken the necessary final procedural steps, the National Council of Textile Organisations said recently.#
“Sustaining the $20 billion in apparel and textile trilateral trade between the U.S., Mexico and Canada is absolutely critical at this time. USMCA, which makes several key improvements over the former North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) will go a long way to increasing the textile industry’s exports, as well as investments and capacity in the U.S. We need to maintain and expand a Western Hemisphere supply chain to meet national emergencies head on in the future,” Glas added.
Mexico and Canada are the two largest export markets for the US textile and apparel industry, totalling nearly $11.3 billion in 2019. NCTO worked with the administration during negotiations on USMCA and successfully lobbied for several provisions and improvements that were subsequently incorporated in the trade deal that will close loopholes and strengthen US Customs enforcement.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
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