Dave Camp: “If the gentleman would yield, first of all, the agreement includes a robust safeguard that allows the United States to…”

“If the gentleman would yield, first of all, the agreement includes a robust safeguard that allows the United States to raise tariffs if imports from South Korea surge and injure the domestic textile industry. Second, the agreement includes a number of provisions to prevent transshipment of products from China or other third countries to ensure that U.S. companies are competing only against South Korean imports. Third, KORUS uses a ``yarn forward'' rule of origin, which requires that the yarn production and all operations forward occur either in South Korea or in the United States. This stringent rule is consistent with other U.S. trade agreements. Fourth, the agreement will open up significant new commercial opportunities for U.S. textile and apparel exporters and support the creation of new textile and apparel jobs in the United States. South Korea is the 10th largest market for U.S. textile and apparel exports. The ITC estimates that U.S. textile exports would increase by $130 million to $140 million, that's 85 to 92 percent, and apparel exports would increase by $39 million to $45 million, that's 125 to 140 percent. U.S. textile and apparel exporters are currently at a significant disadvantage vis-a-vis European textile and apparel exporters. U.S. companies currently face average tariffs in South Korea of 10.2 percent on U.S. textile and apparel exports.…”