NCTO Releases Statement Welcoming Senate’s Bipartisan Legislation Aimed at Boosting U.S. Investigation & Prosecution of International Trade Crimes
August 1, 2024
WASHINGTON, D.C. – National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) President and CEO Kim Glas issued the following statement today commending Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) for introducing the bipartisan “Protecting American Industry and Labor from International Trade Crimes Act,” a bill that will boost federal investigation and prosecution of international trade crimes and impose strong criminal penalties against offenders.
See a link to the senators’ press release here.
Statement by NCTO President and CEO Kim Glas:
“We sincerely thank Senator Graham and Senator Whitehouse for joining together to introduce this legislation which demonstrates strong bipartisan, bicameral support for this common-sense proposal.
“For too long, import fraud and other trade crimes have harmed vital and strategic domestic manufacturing industries such as the U.S. textile industry, which has lost 18 plants and laid off hundreds of workers in just the past several months. Further, our Western Hemisphere trade partners have also suffered widespread closures and suffered tens of thousands of job losses. As such, these pervasive trade crimes call for strong action.
“This critical legislation achieves just that. It will provide the government the necessary tools to prosecute a range of trade crimes, including products made with forced labor that are evading the U.S. ban on such imports, fraudulent rules of origin claims under our free trade agreements, evasion of duties through abuse of the de minimis loophole, and myriad other predatory practices.
“NCTO has long called for additional federal tools and resources to urgently address the trade crimes impacting our industry as well as other U.S. manufacturing sectors. We believe this bipartisan legislation will address this rampant problem and strengthen investigations and prosecution of this fraud. It is a critical step forward and will hold bad actors accountable, while creating a more level playing field for domestic industries.”
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NCTO is a Washington, DC-based trade association that represents domestic textile manufacturers.
- U.S. employment in the textile supply chain was 501,755 in 2023.
- The value of shipments for U.S. textiles and apparel was $64.8 billion in 2023.
- U.S. exports of fiber, textiles and apparel were $29.7 billion in 2023.
- Capital expenditures for textiles and apparel production totaled $2.27 billion in 2021, the last year for which data is available.
CONTACT:
Kristi Ellis
Vice President, Communications
National Council of Textile Organizations
kellis@ncto.org | 202.281.9305
