NCTO Announces Winner of the 2022 Paul T. O’Day Memorial Scholarship

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WASHINGTON, DC – The National Council of Textile Organization’s (NCTO) Fiber Council announces Ms. Abigail McBee, of Gaffney, SC as the recipient of the 2022 Paul T. O’Day Scholarship Award. She is the daughter of Emily and Douglas McBee, who works for Auriga Polymers/Indorama Ventures in Spartanburg, SC.

NCTO Chairman David Poston, President of Palmetto Synthetics LLC, commented, “We are pleased to recognize Ms. McBee’s exceptional record of academic achievements with her selection as the 2022 recipient of the Paul T. O’Day Memorial Scholarship. All of us on the Fiber Council congratulate Ms. McBee and wish her continued success in her academic career.”

The scholarship program was created in 2014 in honor of Paul T. O’Day who served as President of the American Fiber Manufacturers Association (AFMA) for more than three decades. The Association merged with the National Council of Textile Organizations in April 2018, and NCTO’s Fiber Council now administers the scholarship program. Recipients receive a $5,000 award each year, totaling $20,000 for four years of study. Sons or daughters of NCTO’s Fiber Council member company employees are eligible to apply.

NCTO is a Washington, DC-based trade association that represents domestic textile manufacturers.

  • U.S. employment in the textile supply chain was 534,000 in 2021.
  • The value of shipments for U.S. textiles and apparel was $65.2 billion in 2021.
  • U.S. exports of fiber, textiles and apparel were $28.4 billion in 2021.
  • Capital expenditures for textiles and apparel production totaled $1.85 billion in 2020, the last year for which data is available.

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CONTACT: Robin Haynes

(704) 824-3522

www.ncto.org

Washington Update: UFLPA & 301 Tariffs – June 24, 2022

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Don’t miss NCTO’s new Washington Update, offering a snapshot into our advocacy on critical issues impacting the U.S. textile industry. In today’s report, NCTO President and CEO Kim Glas outlines two priority issues: 1) Urging strong enforcement of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act and 2) Petitioning the administration to maintain the Section 301 China tariffs on finished apparel and textiles.

Visit NCTO.org and our Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn pages to learn more about these pressing issues.

Textile Groups Urge U.S. to Maintain Penalty Tariffs on Finished Products; Lifting Tariffs Would Cement China’s Dominance of Global Manufacturing

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WASHINGTON – The Biden administration should maintain Section 301 penalty tariffs on finished textiles and apparel or risk reversing once-in-a-lifetime nearshoring trends and undermining critical investments and jobs in the U.S. and Western Hemisphere, three key American textile manufacturing groups said today.

In a formal submission to the U.S. Trade Representative’s (USTR) office, which is conducting a four-year statutory review of the tariffs, the associations expressed strong support for the continuation of penalty tariffs on imports from China and warned of the consequences associated with removing the tariffs.

“A key aspect of [the Biden administration’s trade] policy is the need to maintain Section 301 tariffs, absent substantive improvements in China’s pervasive, predatory trade practices,” the groups said. Lifting the tariffs “would also do nothing to achieve the administration’s goal of easing inflationary pressures, as apparel prices out of China continue to hit rock bottom even with the Section 301 tariffs,” they noted.

The submission was filed by the National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) and the Narrow Fabrics Institute (NFI) and Industrial Fabrics Institute (USIFI) – both divisions of the Advanced Textiles Association (ATA).  The associations represent the entirety of the U.S. textile production chain.

“For decades, China’s illegal actions have undermined virtually every domestic manufacturing sector and contributed to the direct loss of millions of U.S. jobs. These devastating state-sponsored practices include intellectual property theft as well as pervasive state-ownership of manufacturing, industrial subsidies, and abhorrent labor and human rights abuses in the Xinjiang region,” they noted. “Cancelling these tariffs would create further unhealthy dependence on Chinese supply chains and embolden future systematic trade abuses as bad actors know that the U.S. will not hold them accountable.”

The tariffs were imposed on China beginning in 2018 in response to China’s continuing IP and related trade violations. China has since failed to comply with an agreement it reached with the United States in 2020.

See the full submission here.

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CONTACT:

Kristi Ellis

National Council of Textile Organizations

kellis@ncto.org |  202.684.3091

Janelle Buerkley

U.S. Industrial Fabrics Institute/Narrow Fabrics Institute

Janelle.buerkley@textiles.org | 651.225.6948

The National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) is a not-for-profit trade association established to represent the entire spectrum of the United States textile sector, from fibers to yarns to fabrics to finished products, as well as suppliers of numerous support services such as trucking, banking, chemicals, and other such sectors that have a stake in the prosperity and survival of the U.S. textile sector.  U.S. textile and apparel manufacturers produced $65.2 billion in output in 2021, and our sector’s supply chain employs 534,000 workers from fiber to finished sewn products.  NCTO’s headquarters are in Washington, DC.  www.ncto.org

The Narrow Fabrics Institute (NFI) is a division of the Advanced Textiles Association (ATA) formerly known as the Industrial Fabrics Association International (IFAI) whose mission is to work on common interests and issues in the narrow fabrics industry.  Narrow fabrics are defined as textiles that are no more than 12 inches (300mm) in width and are made by weaving, knitting, or braiding fibers or yarns with an edge to prevent unraveling.  The primary product areas of NFI’s member companies include automotive, military, safety, transportation, medical, and others such as aerospace, industrial, pet, recreational, and electronics.  The North America market for narrow fabrics is estimated at over $335 million in annual sales.  https://narrowfabrics.textiles.org/

The United States Industrial Fabrics Institute (USIFI) is a division of the Advanced Textiles Association (ATA), formerly known as the Industrial Fabrics Association International (IFAI).  Member companies manufacture highly-specialized textile products, advanced materials, and components used to support a variety of high-value-added and sophisticated industries.  These include the aerospace, automotive, construction, marine, medical, military, and safety/protective gear sectors among others.  USIFI currently has 50 member companies, and its headquarters are in Roseville, MN.  https://usindustrialfabrics.textiles.org/