Toward a 21st Century TPP
Agreement for Apparel
March 2013
Learn more about apparel in the TPP at www.tppapparelcoalition.org >> 1
Who is the TPP Apparel Coalition
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Who is the TPP Apparel Coalition
The TPP Apparel Coalition includes American retailers, apparel
brands, apparel manufacturers, and importers, and the many
millions of American workers the industry employs.
The TPP Apparel Coalition is comprised of US-headquartered
companies that together employ 3 million associates
globally, including 2 million associates in the United
States, and an aggregated total sales of $528 billion.
Coalition member companies design, market and sell products
manufactured in and imported to the United States.
We also market and sell products throughout the TPP countries.
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Yarn Forward Has a Dismal Track Record in U.S. FTAs: U.S.
Apparel Imports from Yarn Forward FTAs have declined while
U.S. Apparel Imports from Other Countries Have Grown
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Yarn Forward Can’t Work for Vietnam: Vietnam has diversified
textile suppliers (but only about 2 percent come from current
TPP countries).
Note: Vietnam records textile imports from the following current TPP countries:
Australia, Canada, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore, and the United States.
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Vietnam Will Need Actual Market Access to the United States
to make a deal: 73 percent of all duties collected by the U.S. in
2012 were collected on woven and knit apparel.
Distribution of Duties on U.S. Imports From Vietnam - 2012
Total Duties Collected - $1.75 Billion (Vietnam accounts for 70% of All Duties Collected ($2.501
billion) from current TPP Countries)
Source: Annual 2012 Data, U.S. International Trade Commission's (ITC) Trade Dataweb Learn more about apparel in the TPP at www.tppapparelcoalition.org >>
http://dataweb.usitc.gov
6
Yarn Forward Hasn’t Worked for CAFTA-DR: U.S. textile
exports are uneven while U.S. apparel imports are way down.
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Yarn Forward Hasn’t Worked for NAFTA: U.S. textile exports
and apparel imports grew at first, but have declined over the
last decade.
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Recent Studies Highlight Substantial U.S. Value Added in U.S.
Apparel Imports: Moongate Associates calculates U.S. valued
added for imported apparel equals 70 percent
Value-added as a portion of retail apparel purchase
 LOW RETAIL PRICE
Courtesy: Moongate Associates
Company/product response
HIGH RETAIL PRICE 
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A typical apparel global value chain: 3 million U.S. jobs
support apparel production, design, distribution, and sales.
Courtesy: Moongate Associates
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U.S. Textile Industry Doesn’t Need Yarn Forward to Export:
U.S. textile exports have soared to Vietnam (even without an
FTA or yarn forward rules).
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U.S. Textile Industry Doesn’t Need Yarn Forward to Export: U.S.
textile exports have soared to China (which now ranks as the 2nd
largest market for U.S. yarn and 3rd largest market for U.S. fabric).
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Yarn Forward Is An “All or Nothing Rule”: If the
entire supply chain can’t line up with each style,
each order, and each season, no trade occurs.
Commonly covered components and operations in yarn forward rules in current US FTAs
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Yarn Forward Requires Heavy Documentation: If a
single document is missing, the entire order fails to
qualify.
Four inches of documents
per style is too much.
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Our Conclusion
•
The 20-year old Yarn Forward Rule Can’t Work for a 21st Century
Trade Agreement.
• It doesn’t drive exports or imports under U.S. FTAs
• It no longer works for the agreement (NAFTA) for which it was tailormade.
• It doesn’t support the 3 million U.S. jobs that depend on the global
apparel supply chain.
•
Supply Chains in the ASEAN region extend beyond TPP.
• Vietnam, for example, only sources 2 percent of its yarns, fibers, and
fabrics from other TPP countries.
•
Flexible approaches will be needed to ensure trade and investment
and bring TPP parties to the table.
•
U.S. textile exporters don’t need yarn forward to compete and
export.
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Thank you.
For more information, visit
www.tppapparelcoalition.org
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