NCTO STATEMENT ON SENATE PASSAGE OF THE BIPARTISAN CONGRESSIONAL TRADE PRIORITIES AND ACCOUNTABILITY ACT OF 2015

NCTO STATEMENT ON SENATE PASSAGE OF THE BIPARTISAN CONGRESSIONAL TRADE PRIORITIES AND ACCOUNTABILITY ACT OF 2015

The National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) praises Senate passage of legislation to renew Trade Promotion Authority (TPA). The Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act of 2015 establishes congressional negotiating objectives and institutes parameters associated with the final congressional review of international trade agreements currently being negotiated by the U.S. government.

Additionally, TPA formalizes consultation mechanisms between Congress and the Executive Branch on trade agreements as they are being negotiated. It is critical that the Executive Branch work closely with Congress to develop trade agreements that fully incorporate the interests of American textile workers and the middle class. The U.S. textile and apparel industry employs 499,500 hard working Americans in the United States. It is imperative that these agreements are constructed in a balanced and fair manner in order to help boost American exports, create jobs, and strengthen the U.S. economy.

“We are pleased to continue to lend our support to the renewal of Trade Promotion Authority,” stated NCTO President Augustine Tantillo. “We commend the Senate for passing a clean bill that did not include provisions damaging to domestic job growth, manufacturing, and the U.S. textile industry as a whole. We encourage the House to follow the Senate’s lead and pass a clean TPA bill without amendments that hurt domestic textile workers.”