TEXTILES.ORG
The National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) applauded Senator Kay Hagan (D-NC) and Senator Lindsey Graham (R-SC) for their introduction of S.3741, the Textile Enforcement and Security Act of 2010, in the U.S. Senate yesterday (Aug. 5th). The House version, H.R. 5393, was introduced in May 2010 by Congressmen Kissell (D-NC), Jones (R-NC), Spratt (D-SC), and Coble (R-NC) and currently has 25 co-sponsors.
“It is pivotal that the rules and obligations governing the trading system are enforced and we thank Senator Hagan and Senator Graham for their leadership on this critical issue. The enactment of this legislation will send a clear message—that the U.S. government will not allow fraudulent activity on imported textile and apparel goods to continue to occur, particularly when it comes at the expense of U.S. workers and businesses,” said David Hastings, NCTO chairman.
The Textile Enforcement and Security Act of 2010 legislation provides U.S. Customs and Border Protection with expanded authority, increased resources, and enhanced tools to better facilitate the trade among legal players while more effectively targeting the bad players in the system. U.S. Customs and Border Protection currently collects more than $25 billion in duties annually; with 42 percent of those duties, nearly $11 billion, collected on imports of textile and apparel. As a result, U.S. Customs continues to designate the industry as a Priority Trade Issue for the department.