The US Senate Finance Committee approved amendments to the DR-CAFTA Agreement yesterday. <\/p>\n
The measures now go to the full US Senate for discussion. The DR-CAFTA amendments correct and modify product-specific rules of origin for textiles and include a correction to the definition of sewing thread to include single multifilament synthetic yarn, a type that was not included under the original definition and which is commonly used in apparel production. In the current agreement, such thread may be sourced from non-DR-CAFTA signatories, but once the amendments have passed the Senate, it must be produced within the CAFTA-DR region in order to receive duty-free treatment. This fix alone is expected to support some 1,000 jobs in the region, as reported in Textile World Magazine. <\/p>\n
The DR-CAFTA amendments also include modifications that will ensure duty-free treatment for women’s and girls’ woven pajama bottoms and clarify treatment of certain items on the pact’s textiles short supply list. <\/p>\n
Committee passage of the DR-CAFTA amendments had met with approval by both textile manufacturing and apparel sourcing interests. <\/p>\n
Speaking about the DR-CAFTA technical fix to the sewing thread definition, Auggie Tantillo, executive director of the American Manufacturing Trade Action Coalition, said, “By closing this unintended loophole, U.S. thread producers can begin to recapture market share in the important DR-CAFTA region, leading to more jobs and increased US exports.” <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The US Senate Finance Committee approved amendments to the DR-CAFTA Agreement yesterday. The measures now go to the full US Senate for discussion. The DR-CAFTA amendments correct and modify product-specific rules of origin for textiles and include a correction to the definition of sewing thread to include single multifilament synthetic yarn, a type that was … <\/p>\n