TEXTILES.ORG
Sara Beatty, president of Whitehaven Trade, Charlotte, N.C., gave a policy update and spoke on the advocacy work being done on behalf of the U.S. Industrial and Narrow Fabrics Institute and Military Division of the Advanced Textiles Association. Chief topics concerned tariffs, the de minimis loophole for packages sent into the U.S. valued at less than $800, and efforts to require government agencies to buy materials made in America.
She cited several advocacy work success stories, including:
• Having materials that follow the rules of the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement come into the country duty-free
• Closing the de minimis loophole
• Lowering the threshold for purchasing American-made products from $250,000 to $125,000
• Requiring government agencies to require the purchase of American-made personal protective equipment, the first contracts for which are finally coming through
Work is ongoing in relation to the documentation needed for companies to take advantage of the 20 percent U.S. content deduction and excluding tariffs on textile manufacturing equipment, much of which must be imported. Because the National Defense Authorization Act regularly comes up for renewal, “We are always educating legislators on the importance of Berry,” says Beatty.
She encouraged companies to become involved in the advocacy process each spring; last year, participants included 25 people from 14 companies in nine different states. “If you are in what’s not thought of as a traditional textile-producing state, we need you,” she adds.