President Bush Signs CAFTA

August 5, 2005

    August 5, 2005 -- This week, President Bush signed the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) after intense lobbying to win House approval.
    The National Textile Association (NTA) opposed this CAFTA bill because of the loopholes in the agreement, which would allow fabric from China and other countries to enter the United States duty-free in the form of garments. NTA believes this will be of further detriment to the textile industry in the United States and Central America.
    Also this week, the administration stated that it would delay a decision on textile quotas on imports of clothing from China. This delay ?will allow us time to engage in substantive discussions with our domestic textile and apparel industries and members of Congress on whether there is interest in a broader textile agreement with China,? U.S. Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez said in a statement.
    According to an article published in Fibre2fashion, ?The decision to consult with U.S. stakeholders on whether to formally seek a deal with China follows a vote last week in the U.S. House of Representatives on CAFTA, where some textile-state lawmakers helped provide the margin of victory.?

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