The National Council of Textile Organisations (NCTO) board of directors has voted to endorse the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

The United States, Canada and Mexico signed the USMCA on 30 November 2018.

“On behalf of the US textile industry, thank you to President Trump, ambassador Lighthizer and the entire US negotiating team for your hard work in getting USMCA done,” says Marty Moran, NCTO chairman.

“The new deal is better than NAFTA for the US textile industry in many aspects and NCTO is pleased to endorse it.”

“NCTO was in continuous communication with US negotiators during USMCA talks, urging them to preserve and enhance the North American textile supply chain, and the deal reflects many of NCTO’s priorities,” adds Moran, noting that the US textile-related exports to Canada and Mexico totalled a combined US$11.8bn in 2017.

“NCTO will begin educating Congress immediately on how USMCA is an improvement over NAFTA and assuming any implementing legislation is restricted to the terms of the agreement as negotiated, we will press for its passage in early 2019,” explains Auggie Tantillo, NCTO president & CEO.

USMCA improvements over NAFTA include:

  • A standalone chapter for textile and apparel - NAFTA does not have a separate chapter covering textile and apparel rules of origin.
  • Stronger rules of origin for sewing thread, pocketing, narrow elastics and certain coated fabrics.
  • Fixing the Kissell Amendment loophole.
  • Stronger rules for customs enforcement.

The US International Trade Commission (ITC) held a public hearing on 15 – 16 November in Washington, DC as part of its investigation of the likely impact of the USMCA on the US economy. 

Tantillo testified on Panel 4, General Manufacturing, on Friday 16 November, the hearing’s second day, in more detail about how USMCA is an improvement to NAFTA.

NCTO is a Washington, DC-based trade association that represents domestic textile manufacturers, including artificial and synthetic filament and fibre producers.

  • US employment in the textile supply chain was 550,500 in 2017.
  • The value of shipments for US textiles and apparel was US$77.9bn in 2017.
  • US exports of fibre, textiles and apparel were US$28.6bn in 2017.
  • Capital expenditures for textile and apparel production totalled US$2.4bn in 2016, the last year for which data is available.