The eighth round of negotiations on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement — a regional trade agreement covering the interests of the United States and eight other countries in the Asia-Pacific region including Australia, Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam — is underway in Chicago. Textile and apparel organizations continue to weigh in on how textiles and apparel should be treated in the trade agreement expected to result from the negotiations, with particular emphasis on including a yarn-forward rule of origin chapter.

On September 7, a coalition of textile and apparel groups representing 25 free trade agreement (FTA) and preference countries in Africa and the Americas sent a letter to United States Trade Representative (USTR) Ambassador Ron Kirk calling on the U.S. government to include a yarn-forward rule of origin, stronger customs rules, and special mechanisms to reckon with state-owned and -subsidized companies. The letter notes that existing FTAs and trade preference programs with the United States have created more than two million jobs for workers in those countries and have resulted in nearly $30 billion annually in textile and apparel trade, all of which could be jeopardized by an unbalanced TPP agreement. The groups argue that "a yarn-forward rule will help to ensure that third parties, such as China, do not take advantage of the agreement," citing Vietnam as a particular concern, as it already is the second-largest exporter of apparel to the United States and uses primarily Chinese yarn and fabrics. The groups also raised concern over Vietnam's state-owned and -subsidized textile industry.

Twenty representatives from U.S. textile trade associations, textile companies and regional trade partners were among 57 stakeholder groups that made individual presentations to delegates from the TPP countries and to other stakeholders at a USTR-sponsored forum on September 10. The representatives voiced strong support for a yarn-forward rule of origin and outlined the job and other economic benefits a yarn-forward rule would bring to TPP countries. Representatives from textile trade associations included the American Manufacturing Trade Action Coalition (AMTAC); the National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO); the African Cotton and Textile Industries Federation (ACTIF); and the Camara de la Industria Textil y de Confeccion de El Salvador (CAMTEX). Representatives from U.S. textile manufacturers included NCTO Chairman and Unifi Inc. Chairman and CEO William L. "Bill" Jasper; Parkdale Mills Inc. President and former NCTO Chairman Anderson Warlick; Mount Vernon Mills Inc. President and CEO and former NCTO Chairman W. David Hastings; Buhler Quality Yarns Corp. President and CEO Werner Bieri; Frontier Spinning Mills CEO John Bakane; and Denimatrix LP President Carlos Arias.

"The number one political issue right now is jobs and that is what yarn-forward is all about," said NCTO President Cass Johnson. "By limiting benefits to the signatory countries, yarn-forward encourages investment and job creation in those places. In contrast, a 'single transformation' rule would not only drain potential jobs and investment from the TPP but it also would cause the catastrophic loss of textile and apparel jobs in the United States and in its free trade partner countries. "

"If there is to be a TPP, the benefits accrued should go to the signatories rather than to countries that are not part of the agreement," added AMTAC Executive Director Auggie Tantillo. "For the TPP to be a success from an industry jobs standpoint, the agreement cannot just stimulate consumption, it must stimulate U.S. textile production. The only way for this to happen is to include a tight yarn-forward rule of origin."

On September 11, chief negotiators from the nine TPP partner countries gave a mid-round briefing to many of the 250-plus stakeholders invited by the USTR to be onsite for the talks, including many of the stakeholder groups who made presentations the previous day. Chief U.S. negotiator Barbara Weisel noted that the TPP partners have continued to make progress on the legal texts of the agreements as they try to agree on specific provisions, and have moved forward on market access discussions in several sectors, but that '"hard work" remains to be done as the effort continues to reach the broad outlines of the agreement in the coming months."

Prior to the start of the Chicago round, the TPP Apparel Coalition — a group of apparel and retail organizations including the American Apparel & Footwear Association, National Retail Federation, Outdoor Industry Association, Retail Industry Leaders Association and United States Association of Importers of Textiles and Apparel — launched a website, www.tppapparelcoalition.org, to help disseminate information supporting the U.S. apparel and retail industry's position on the TPP agreement. The coalition's recently released position paper is posted on the website.

The Chicago round of TPP talks will conclude Thursday, September 15. The ninth round is scheduled to take place October 24-28 in Lima, Peru. TPP members have set a goal of reaching the outlines of an agreement during a meeting of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders scheduled to take place November 8-13 in Honolulu, Hawaii.