NCTO supports ‘Wear American’ bill

In July, U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown (D-OH) introduced legislation that would require government agencies to source 100 percent Made in the USA when procuring textiles, textile components and apparel items. The National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) supports the bill, which would increase the content requirements currently contained in the Buy American Act and would still be subject to the same exemptions. Studies from Boston Consulting Group, a global management consulting firm, and others indicate that increasing labor and higher transportation costs in China, coupled with better productivity in U.S. plants, have narrowed the “China advantage” in price for many manufactured products.