NCTO files public comments for NAFTA renegotiations

The National Council of Textile Organisations (NCTO), a Washington, DC-based trade association that represents domestic textile manufacturers, has filed public comments with the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) outlining the US textile industry’s priorities in the forthcoming renegotiation of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

“The US textile industry welcomes President Trump’s decision to renegotiate NAFTA,” said NCTO Chairman William V McCrary, chairman and CEO of William Barnet & Son, a synthetic fibre/yarn/polymer firm headquartered in Spartanburg, South Carolina.

“It is in America’s national interest to modernise the agreement and NCTO is eager to work with President Trump to make it even better,” McCrary continued.

“Let me be clear: NAFTA is vital to the prosperity of the US textile industry, and NCTO steadfastly supports continuing the agreement. With that said, NAFTA can be improved to incentivise more textile and apparel jobs and production in the United States, Canada, and Mexico,” McCrary added.

“Eliminating loopholes that shift production to third-party countries like China and devoting more customs enforcement resources to stop illegal third-country transshipments are two changes that would make the agreement better,” McCrary said.

“We look forward to working with our industry partners throughout the NAFTA region to improve this agreement for all,” McCrary finished.

US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer formally notified Congress on May 18, 2017 that President Trump intended to renegotiate NAFTA. This action triggered a request for public comments found at 82 FR 23699 and dated May 23, 2017. That public comment period has now closed.