Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I am pleased to introduce legislation today, cosponsored by my colleagues Senator Reid of Nevada, Senator Blunt of Missouri, and Senator Akaka of Hawaii, that will provide duty- free treatment to U.S. imports of finished Philippine apparel in return for purchasing and using fabrics and yarns made in the United States. This bill will promptly create an incentivized export market for our shrinking textile industry, and create new jobs. The Philippine apparel industry estimates that U.S. fabric sales spurred by the SAVE Act could reach potentially hundreds of millions of dollars and translate into upwards of 2,000 additional jobs in the United States fabric mill sector. With almost 99 percent of the U.S. apparel market now served by imports, U.S. textile manufacturers are reliant on export markets for their survival. The SAVE Act is patterned after the Dominican Republic, Central America Free Trade Agreement, or CAFTA, which permits tariff-free import of apparel assembled in those countries in return for using cotton and manmade fiber fabrics still made in the United States. The SAVE Act will provide our textile companies with a new opportunity to export fabrics into the dynamic Asian market. The Philippine apparel manufacturing industry is well established and known for its quality needlework and high-end fashion. It has been supplying top American brands and U.S. retailers for decades.…”