WASHINGTON UPDATE: NCTO Unites with 13 Trade Groups to Support USMCA

The National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO), representing the full spectrum of U.S. textiles from fiber through finished sewn products, joined 13 trade associations in a letter to House lawmakers this week, urging members to vote in favor of the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA).

The House was expected to pass USMCA on December 19, 2019.

The USMCA updates and modifies the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and makes significant improvements that textile and cotton producers believe will help bolster cotton exports to the region, as well as the $20 billion in annual trilateral textile and apparel trade between the U.S., Mexico and Canada.

Mexico and Canada are the two largest export markets for U.S. textiles, totaling nearly $12 billion in 2018.

For U.S. cotton producers, Mexico is the top export market for U.S. raw cotton and the second largest export market for U.S. cotton textile and apparel products. Canada is the fourth largest market for those products, according to the National Cotton Council.

NCTO will continue to push for passage of USMCA in the Senate, which is expected to hold a vote early next year on the trade pact.