Textile Sector Aims to Push Agenda

WASHINGTON — The U.S. textile industry is on the rebound and going on the offensive. Textile executives attending the National Council of Textile Organizations’ annual meeting here last week said as the strong resurgence in the U.S. textile industry continues to build, they plan to carry that message to Congress and the White House in anticipation of action on several pending trade deals and measures this spring that will have a significant impact on their businesses. “There is a natural gravitational pull for some business and programs to come back to the Western Hemisphere based on macroeconomic conditions, transportation costs, energy costs, [rising] labor costs in Asia,” said Auggie Tantillo, president and chief executive officer of NCTO. “The real driver is it is becoming a little more cost effective to produce in this hemisphere. That’s why the policy decisions that are made over the next couple of years are hyper critical to us. Conditions have turned and there is a resurgence. All the trend lines in our industry are up.…We want to keep the policy from interrupting what appears to be a set of positive trends for our industry.” Executives pointed to a range of positive economic indicators that show the industry, which

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