NCTO endorses U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement

The National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) board of directors has endorsed the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA), according to a December 6th press release. The United States, Canada and Mexico signed the USMCA November 30. NCTO is a Washington, D.C. trade association that represents domestic textile manufacturers, including artificial and synthetic filament and fiber producers.

According to NCTO Chairman Marty Moran, CEO of Jefferson, GA-based Buhler Quality Yarns Corp, “The new deal is better than NAFTA for the U.S. textile industry in many aspects and NCTO is pleased to endorse it.”

The announcement states that NCTO directors believe that USMCA offers improvements over NAFTA, including:

• A standalone chapter for textile and apparel; NAFTA does not have a separate chapter covering textile and apparel rules of origin

• Stronger rules of origin for sewing thread, pocketing, narrow elastics and certain coated fabrics

• Fixing the Kissell Amendment loophole

• Stronger rules for customs enforcement