News from 13th Annual NCTO Annual Meeting Held April 12-14, 2016 in Washington, D.C.

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State of the Textile Industry PowerPoint

State of the Textile Industry Speech

 

April 14, 2016

CONTACT:  Lloyd Wood
(202) 822-8028
lwood@ncto.org

PRESS STATEMENT

NCTO Elects New Chairman for 2016


WASHINGTON, D.C. – Robert H. Chapman III, Chairman, CEO and Treasurer of Inman Mills was elected to serve as Chairman of the National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) for 2016 at the group’s 13th Annual Meeting held April 12-14 at The Capital Hilton hotel located in Washington, D.C.  Inman Mills is a family-owned textile company headquartered in Inman, SC that manufactures yarns and fabrics – www.inmanmills.com.

Elected as NCTO Vice Chairman for 2016 was William V. McCrary Jr., President & CEO of William Barnet and Son LLC.  Barnet is a global fiber, yarn and resin manufacturer.  The company’s head office is located in Spartanburg, South Carolina – www.barnet.com.

2016 State of the Textile Industry Speech and PowerPoint

Before turning over his gavel to Chapman, outgoing 2015 NCTO Chairman Jeff Price delivered the 2016 State of the Textile Industry address.  Price is President, Specialty Fabrics Division, of Milliken & Company – www.milliken.com.

NCTO is a Washington, DC-based trade association that represents domestic textile manufacturers.

  • U.S. employment in the textile supply chain was 579,000 in 2015.
  • The value of shipments for U.S. textiles and apparel was $76 billion last year, a nearly 14% increase since 2009.
  • U.S. exports of fiber, textiles and apparel are up 38% over that same time period, reaching $27.75 billion in 2015.
  • Capital expenditures for textile and apparel production totaled $2 billion in 2014, the last year for which data is available.

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NCTO Welcomes U.S.-China MOU to Terminate Chinese Export Subsidies

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2016 04 14 NCTO press statement on US China MOU to terminate Chinese export subsidies

 

April 14, 2016

CONTACT:  Lloyd Wood
(202) 822-8028
lwood@ncto.org

 

PRESS STATEMENT

NCTO Welcomes U.S.-China MOU to Terminate Chinese Export Subsidies

WASHINGTON, DC – The National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) applauded today’s announcement of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the United States and China with respect to an agreement by China to terminate export subsidies under its “Demonstration Bases-Common Services Platform”.

“We thank the Obama administration for working diligently to construct an arrangement to eliminate these subsidies which directly damage U.S. manufacturing jobs, output and investment,” said NCTO CEO & President Augustine Tantillo.

“There is no doubt that China’s rise to become the world’s largest exporter of textile and apparel products has been aided by a pervasive series of illegal state-sponsored subsidies,” Tantillo continued.

“These subsidies are clearly inconsistent with the rules of the World Trade Organization, and they are unfair to domestic textile manufacturers and the hundreds of thousands of U.S. workers they employ,” Tantillo added.

“Our companies must play by free-market rules, and it is time that Chinese textile manufacturers do the same,” Tantillo concluded.

NCTO is a Washington, DC-based trade association that represents domestic textile manufacturers.

  • S. employment in the textile supply chain was 579,000 in 2015.
  • The value of shipments for U.S. textiles and apparel was $76 billion last year, a nearly 14% increase since 2009.
  • S. exports of fiber, textiles and apparel are up 38% over that same time period, reaching $27.75 billion in 2015.
  • Capital expenditures for textile and apparel production totaled $2 billion in 2014, the last year for which data is available.

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NCTO Welcomes RFT-MII Announcement

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2016 04 01 RFT MII Announcement

 

April 1, 2016
For Immediate Release

CONTACT:  Lloyd Wood
(202) 822-8028
lwood@ncto.org

NCTO Welcomes RFT-MII Announcement

WASHINGTON, DC – The U.S. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter announced today that Advanced Functional Fabrics of America (AFFOA) was selected to lead the Revolutionary Fibers & Textiles Manufacturing Innovation Institute (RFT-MII).

The RFT-MII is a collaborative effort between government and the private sector to accelerate the development of the next generation of highly functional textiles from both a commercial and military perspective.

Total funding is expected to be almost $320 million.  The Department of Defense (DoD) has committed $75 million, a figure matched by almost $250 million in money and other in-kind contributions from the U.S. textile industry and other sources.

The National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) welcomed the announcement.  “We are pleased that the RFT-MII has gone from concept to reality,” said NCTO President Augustine Tantillo.  “This investment in advanced manufacturing will add to the substantial ongoing efforts associated with innovation in fiber and textile science in the United States.”

“This long range investment will help the United States maintain its current position as the most innovative and technically advanced textile industry in the world,” Tantillo added.

“We expect that it will ultimately spur jobs and investment in our sector while also making our military stronger,” Tantillo finished, as he noted that domestic industry supplies more than 8,000 different textile products to our warfighters.

President Obama announced the formation of the RFT-MII on March 18, 2015 as part of his National Network of Manufacturing Innovation (NNMI) initiative.  The NNMI brings together industry, academia and federal partners to increase U.S. manufacturing competitiveness, by promoting a robust and sustainable manufacturing research and development infrastructure.

There are 579,000 jobs in U.S. fiber, textile and apparel production.  Sector exports were $27.75 billion last year.  Capital investment within industry totaled $2 billion in 2014, an increase of 50 percent since 2009.

NCTO represents domestic textile manufacturers and related industry.  See www.ncto.org.

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NCTO Submits Testimony to U.S. International Trade Commission on Impact of TPP

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On February 15, 2016, NCTO submitted testimony to the U.S. International Trade Commission on the potential impact of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) on the U.S. textile industry.

NCTO ITC TPP Submission 2016 2-15

U.S. Dept. of Commerce Bureau of Industry and Security Studying U.S. Textile Sector

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The U.S. Department of Commerce Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) is undertaking a comprehensive study on the health, competiveness, and the contribution of the U.S. textile, apparel, and footwear industry to the U.S. economy.  Among the topics included are:

  • Current issues and challenges, and what can be done to support the industry.
  • Effectiveness of the Berry Amendment and other Buy-American provisions.

The U.S. Department of Commerce conducted a similar assessment in 2003, “U.S. Textile and Apparel Industries: An Industrial Base Assessment.”  A link to that study is below.

The U S Textile and Apparel Industries – An Industrial Base Assessment

U.S. Textile Manufacturers Endorse Trans-Pacific Partnership

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January 21, 2016

Contact: Eliza Levy
202-822-8028
elevy@ncto.org

U.S. Textile Manufacturers Endorse Trans-Pacific Partnership

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On January 20, 2016, the National Council of Textile Organizations voted to formally support the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade agreement. The decision to support TPP came after an exhaustive analysis determined that NCTO’s principle objectives were met as part of the finalized terms of the agreement. These objectives include:

  • A strong yarn forward rule of origin for the vast majority of textile and apparel products.
  • Reasonable, multi-year tariff phase-outs for sensitive textile and apparel products.
  • Terms that provided for the stability of the Western Hemisphere textile and apparel production chain.

“Due to the inclusion of Vietnam and other major textile and apparel exporting countries, the TPP agreement is the most significant trade policy initiative to confront the U.S. textile sector over the past 25 years,” stated Jeff Price, NCTO Chairman and President of the Specialty Fabrics Division at Milliken and Company. “As such, it was critical for our government to produce a final agreement that appropriately reflected the needs of U.S. textile manufacturers and the hundreds of thousands of workers we employ nationwide. We believe that the agreement concluded late last year in Atlanta meets our core objectives and is worthy of our full support.”

“No agreement is perfect, and certainly that is the case with TPP,” Price continued. “There were difficult trade-offs that we, as U.S. manufacturers, had to consider during this process, as is the case with any complicated negotiation. Nonetheless, this agreement is very sound in the essential elements that govern textile trade. We stated throughout the entire negotiating process that if our key objectives were met, NCTO would support the final agreement. Today, we are making good on that commitment to the U.S. government by pledging our support of TPP. With legislative review and action expected in 2016, NCTO looks forward to working with congressional leadership, the committees of jurisdiction, our supporters on Capitol Hill, and the Obama Administration on a path forward for TPP.”

“We extend our thanks to Ambassador Michael Froman and the entire U.S. negotiating team for their willingness to acknowledge our input throughout the TPP process,” Price concluded.

The U.S. textile and apparel industry is a significant contributor to the U.S. economy, producing over $70 billion in annual output and employing nearly 500,000 workers nationwide. In addition, the U.S. textile and apparel sector exported more than $24 billion in goods in 2014.

NCTO Statement on Release of Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Text

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Today’s release of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) text allows NCTO to begin an exhaustive review of the details of the agreement. NCTO will immediately initiate a thorough analysis of the text to determine its impact on our members, the U.S. textile industry as a whole, and our Western Hemisphere trading partners. Read more

Statement on the Passing of Congressman Howard Coble

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NCTO is saddened to learn of former Congressman Howard Coble’s passing. Congressman Coble was a steadfast textile leader in Congress who dedicated his life to fighting for the real people and real jobs that the U.S. textile industry provided. He co-sponsored every bill, fought for every issue, and signed every letter that the U.S. Read more

Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement Concluded

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For Immediate Release

October 5, 2015

NCTO Thanks the U.S. Government for their Close Cooperation on Key Issues in the Textile Chapter

Washington, D.C. – Responding to the announcement that the Obama Administration has successfully concluded the   Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), NCTO expresses gratitude to U.S. negotiators for their close cooperation on key issues in the textile chapter. The twelve nations who finalized the agreement include the United States, Australia, Brunei, Chile, Canada, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam. These countries represent nearly 40% of global gross domestic product. Read more

Textile Industry Calls on Obama Administration to Address Critical Issues Affecting U.S. Manufacturers during Chinese Presidential Visit

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For Immediate Release

September 25, 2015

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) calls on the Obama Administration to utilize today’s visit with Chinese President  Xi Jinping to highlight the urgent need for substantial economic and trade policy reforms by China in order to help level the playing field for U.S. textile producers and other U.S. manufacturers. Read more