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Industry Talk

US fashion industry recognizes conclusion of TPP negotiations

The TPP is a trade agreement between several Pacific Rim countries, which will seek to lower trade barriers such as tariffs.

6th October 2015

Knitting Industry
 |  Washington, DC

Knitwear, Knitted Outerwear, Hosiery/​Socks, Sports/​Activewear, Knitted Accessories

“The Trans-Pacific Partnership represents an important opportunity for American fashion brands, retailers, importers, and wholesalers, who are already doing significant business in several TPP partner countries,” said Julia K. Hughes, President of USFIA.

“On behalf of our members, thank you to US Trade Representative Michael Froman and his team for their many years of hard work to conclude this agreement.”

High-standard agreement

“The fashion industry has been eagerly awaiting the completion of this agreement and we look forward to seeing the final text to see how it can benefit our members,” continued Hughes.

“We remain hopeful that the TPP will indeed be a high-standard agreement that recognizes the 21st-century global value chain and economic contributions of these companies, which work hard to create high-quality jobs in the United States and affordable, high-quality apparel products for American families.”

The TPP is a trade agreement between several Pacific Rim countries, which will seek to lower trade barriers such as tariffs, establish a common framework for intellectual property, enforce standards for labour law and environmental law, and establish an investor-state dispute settlement mechanism. TPP is considered by the US government as the companion agreement to TTIP (the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership), a broadly similar agreement between the US and the EU.

Affecting business practices

According to the 2015 USFIA Fashion Industry Benchmarking Study, released in June, the USFIA members already source from five TPP partner countries: Vietnam, Peru, Mexico, Malaysia, and the United States.

Nearly 80% of respondents said they expect the TPP to affect their business practices. However, the level of impact depends on the rules of origin and market access provisions; 83% called for abandoning the strict yarn-forward rule of origin, and 45% hoped the TPP short-supply list would be expanded.

“We understand the final agreement contains a yarn-forward rule of origin and limited short-supply list, though we remain hopeful it also will include many opportunities for fashion brands, retailers, importers, and wholesalers to expand their global businesses,” concluded Hughes.

www.usfashionindustry.com

Transatlantic agreement to change the way we trade

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