The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) is taking concrete steps to protect and bolster the American textile industry, according to Ambassador Katherine Tai, who delivered remarks at the National Council of Textile Organizations’ (NCTO) annual meeting on Thursday.
Stressing the importance of engaging the sector in ongoing conversations about trade and domestic industry, Ambassador Tai told an audience of American manufacturers that textiles will play an integral role in fostering the country’s supply chain resilience.
“A priority of mine as the U.S. Trade Representative has been to put the ‘U.S.’ back into USTR,” she said. “This means that USTR will not sit around and wait for our workers and other underserved stakeholders to come find us—we are coming to you, meeting you where you are, where you work and raise your families.”
Tai spoke to recent visits to textile research and manufacturing facilities, from Aurora Specialty Textiles in Illinois to Milliken & Company in South Carolina, American & Efird in North Carolina, North Carolina State University’s Wilson College of Textiles, and a trip last month to Glen Raven’s facilities, also in the Tar Heel State.
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The “enormously meaningful” site tours showcased the industry’s investment in cutting-edge technologies and green production processes—and underscored its potential, she said.
“During the height of the pandemic, it was your industry that was able to step up quickly, to repurpose your capabilities to produce essential equipment—like surgical masks and medical-grade gloves,” Tai added. “This effort was heroic, and not only do I think we all owe you much gratitude, but I also think this is exactly the reason why our trade policy should be used to build resilience in sectors like yours, and not undermine you.”
To that end, Tai said she understands what the textile sector has been up against. “I know the challenges you all have faced in the last several decades and are continuing to face today,” Tai said. “We saw so much production leave the United States, in part because of our trade policies.”
In February, NCTO reported that nine U.S. textile businesses closed over the course of the 16 preceding weeks as a result of dwindling business. “Plants shuttered, and many of your companies and workers suffered,” Tai acknowledged Thursday. “I am here to tell you that I hear you, the President and the Vice President hear you, and we are on your side.”
The USTR is now “taking a new approach to trade, one that puts working families first and strives for resilience and durable growth,” Tai said.
“One thing we learned from the pandemic is how vulnerable we are by over relying on products and inputs from distant shores, especially from economies that do not share our values,” she added. “We are actively working to reduce this reliance, including by incentivizing U.S.- and regionally-based production.”
In light of that goal, Tai emphasized that the USTR is still engaged in its statutory four-year review of the Section 301 punitive tariffs on China-made goods, noting, “I hope we can announce the outcome of that review soon.”
Beyond that, the trade authority has engaged the manufacturing industry in creating a strategy for greater supply chain resilience, announcing in March that it was seeking public comments.
“This is much more than just moving goods around,” Tai said. “It is about proactively strengthening domestic manufacturing. It is about creating strategic arrangements with trusted partners and with regional partners.”
Written comments must be submitted to the Office of the USTR by April 22, and the federal government agency will hold field hearings in St. Paul, Minnesota, and in New York City, along with a fully virtual hearing, in support of the effort.
Creating more opportunities for U.S. businesses will also involve collaborating with global and regional trading partners “to incentivize a race to the top through stronger coordination and alignment on labor and environmental protections,” Tai added. “This is really important to design a system that can adapt and rebound with agility and to drive lasting, inclusive prosperity.”
The USTR aims to empower workers through enforcement of existing trade agreements, and address unfair competition based in worker exploitation. “This looks like working with allies like Japan to set up a task force to address this issue,” she said by way of example. “This also looks like fully enforcing the Section 307 forced labor import ban, and working with other federal government agencies to make sure that we are not importing goods made with forced labor from the PRC.”
Meanwhile, the creation of a collaborative, fully functional and verticalized western hemisphere supply chain for textiles is among the federal government’s pressing objectives. Tai cited Vice President Harris’ Call-to-Action Initiative, established two years ago, which has mobilized the support of U.S. corporations like Gap Inc., Target and Columbia Sportswear as well as American textile firms like Parkdale Mills, Unifi, and SanMar to create meaningful economic opportunity in El Salvador, Guatemala, and Honduras.
To date, the initiative has galvanized more than $5.2 billion in private sector commitments in northern Central America, according to Tai.
“Let me tell you why this is important for Americans and working communities here—these investments and sourcing commitments will help increase economic opportunities in these countries, and promote greater near-shoring and support American jobs that provide the yarns and fabrics that go into Central American apparel production,” she said.
While USTR is eager to see textiles production in the Americas take off, Tai assured NCTO members that the Biden Administration remains committed to safeguarding the yarn-forward rules of origin for apparel under CAFTA-DR.
“We want to work with all stakeholders to bring more production back to this hemisphere, while also strengthening regional supply chains and supporting good-paying jobs in the United States and Central America,” she added. “This is how we grow together; this is how we incentivize a race to the top for our people.”