National Council of Textile Organizations and NCC Lend Support to CBTPA Extension

By Cotton Grower Staff|September 9, 2020

The National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) and the National Cotton Council (NCC) sent a letter to the chairs and ranking members of two key congressional committees September 9, voicing support for a timely extension of the Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act (CBTPA).

The House Ways and Means Committee’s Subcommittee on Trade has scheduled a hearing on the trade preference program, which is set to expire on September 30.

Since it was implemented in 2000, the CBTPA has provided a structured system of textile and apparel duty preferences for certain countries, most notably Haiti. U.S. textile and cotton industries have seen significant benefits from the program, which has helped establish an export market for U.S.-grown cotton, U.S.-spun yarn and other textile materials of U.S. origin.

The U.S. content rule contained in CBTPA provides a mutual benefit to the U.S. industry and to the Caribbean Basin region economies.

As noted in their joint letter, NCTO and NCC support is contingent upon the trade program not being tied to other unrelated and harmful trade and tariff provisions. The letter was sent to House Ways and Means Chairman Richard Neal (D-MA), Ranking Member Kevin Brady (R-TX), Senate Finance Chairman Charles Grassley (R-IA) and Ranking Member Ron Wyden (D-OR).