AAFA and Textiles Trade Group at Odds on Section 301 Tariffs

The Section 301 tariffs list should not be used to "pick winners and losers in the free market," the American Apparel and Footwear Association announced just after the National Council of Textile Organizations testified to a review panel that it wants clothing added to the tariff list. In 2017, the U.S. imported nearly $100 billion more in apparel and textiles than it exported, the NCTO said in its submission to the panel, and Chinese exports in these categories account for about 12 percent of the overall bilateral trade deficit. China's exports are responsible for the loss of hundreds of thousands of mill and garment factory jobs, they said, and "the remaining vestiges" of the apparel industry won't ask for antidumping investigations because they are held hostage by their customers, who import the bulk of what they sell, the submission said.

NCTO said China has violated patents on advanced textiles, and illegally copied home furnishings patterns and designs, and so these products are good candidates for the list. Moreover, they said, there are many other countries that produce textiles and apparel, so companies could easily source from those other countries.

The AAFA, which testified the previous day thanking the panel of the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative for leaving their products off the list, said: "It is unrealistic to think that textile and apparel supply chains can quickly or simply shift production outside China without massive disruption that will lead to cost increases and significant retail price inflation in the United States -- which will fall disproportionately hard on low-income Americans." Both AAFA and NCTO testified that sewing and knitting machines should not face tariffs. Those machines are on the draft list.