AAFA President Questions NCTO’s Request to Raise Taxes on American Consumers

May 17, 2018 | WASHINGTON, D.C

Rick Helfenbein, president and CEO of the American Apparel & Footwear Association, released the following statement in response to the testimony by the National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) requesting the Trump Administration to impose a 25 percent tariff on U.S. imports from China of apparel, textile-based home furnishings, and advanced textiles, as part of the Section 301 investigation by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR):

“We are disappointed that the National Council of Textile Organizations has called for taxes to be levied on American citizens. Tariffs are a tax – plain and simple – and levying tariffs on U.S. imports will directly raise our costs here at home. 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.

“For the record, we do agree with our NCTO colleagues that textile machinery should not be slapped with tariffs, as those tariffs – like the ones they are proposing on finished products and other textile inputs – would also add costs, raise prices on Americans, and hamper the Made in USA movement.

“Let's stay focused on the original intent of the Section 301 investigation, which is to deal with the problem of intellectual property theft and forced technology transfer in China. The investigation was not established to provide the Federal Government with the means to pick winners and losers in the free market. Tariffs will not solve the underlying problem of intellectual property theft and forced technology transfer.

“We encourage the administration to consider solutions that will directly impact unfair trade practices, while not damaging the interests of those who already follow the rules.”

The American Apparel & Footwear Association submitted comments as part of the USTR Section 301 investigation and testified on May 16. In its submissions, the association applauded the administration’s review of intellectual property theft and forced technology transfer in China, emphasized the negative impacts of tariffs on American consumers and American businesses, and encouraged the removal of machinery used in the domestic manufacturing of apparel, footwear, and textile products from the original list compiled by USTR.