Political Quotes

“I rise today to introduce legislation to extend a critical textile and apparel trade program with Nicaragua, currently set to expire at the end of 2014 through the end of 2024. This is a unique program which benefits not only Nicaraguan apparel factories and U.S. apparel companies and retailers, but U.S. fabric and yarn mills as well. Let me explain. In an effort to promote trade between the United States and Nicaragua, the 2006 Central American Free Trade Agreement, CAFTA, allows Nicaragua to export to the United States a limited amount of apparel products duty free regardless of the source of the yarn or fabric. Specifically, this Tariff Preference Level, TPL, allows Nicaragua to export 100 million square meter equivalents, SMEs, of apparel made with fabric from non-CAFTA countries as long as the apparel is assembled in Nicaragua. In order to ensure that U.S. fabric producers could also take advantage of this program, it contains a special rule for trousers. It requires Nicaragua to purchase one square meter of U.S. fabric for every one square meter of non-CAFTA woven trouser fabric. That is, under this ``one for one'' rule, for each export of woven trousers made from non-CAFTA fabric, Nicaragua agreed to export to the U.S. an equal amount of woven trousers made of U.S. fabric, up to a certain level 50 million square meter equivalents. This ``one for one'' feature has been especially successful, resulting in an increase in U.S.…”