NCTO Chairman Concerned MTB Process Being 'Abused'
The National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) is concerned that the miscellaneous tariff bill (MTB) process is being “abused” through the filing of hundreds of petitions on finished goods, especially apparel, outgoing Chairman Robert Chapman said March 23 at the group's annual meeting (here). “On principle, NCTO opposes MTBs on finished goods because they often compete with like products made with U.S. inputs,” Chapman said. “Duty reductions on finished textile items from any source can also undermine U.S. free trade agreements that grant duty relief through a yarn forward rule of origin.” But Chapman added that NCTO strongly supports duty relief on domestically unavailable manufacturing inputs that don’t compete with other U.S.-made products. The International Trade Commission is in the process of reviewing the petitions and comments (see 1703230052).
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Chapman also noted that the group supported President Donald Trump’s executive order withdrawing from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, reversing its endorsement from a year earlier, after Trump’s election brought a “dramatic change” on trade, allowing NCTO to “revisit its position.” The NCTO also supports the Trump administration’s planned NAFTA renegotiation, in part because the agreement’s “yarn-forward” rule of origin has loopholes like tariff preference levels that benefit third-party countries such as China at the expense of U.S. industry, Chapman said. “Closing them would boost U.S. textile production and employment,” he said. NCTO also supports more resources and effective execution of customs enforcement, including Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross’ call for government self-initiation of antidumping and countervailing duty cases, Chapman said. The coalition also supports countering currency manipulation and continued rejection of China’s call for countries to recognize it as a market economy for AD and CV duty purposes, he said.