The National Textile Association states that a "Stakeholder Forum" will be part of the Vietnam and other Trans-Pacific Partner trade talks in Chicago from September 6-15, 2011. The U.S. will host a TPP Stakeholder Forum on Saturday, September 10, at the Hilton Hotel, in Chicago, Illinois. Interested persons are encouraged to register before August 26.
A press source states that the National Textile Association quickly withdrew its petition that was filed on July 15, 2011 at the International Trade Commission on behalf of the U.S. upholstery textile manufacturing industry. They had alleged unfair pricing of upholstery fabric imports from China from 2001-2010, saying they were a significant cause of material injury to the U.S. industry. The NTA requested a 125% tariff on chenille upholstery fabric and a 75% tariff on other upholstered fabrics cited in the petition. The petition also claimed that China subsidizes its textile producers and keeps Chinese currency undervalued.
On July 28, 2011, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announced that it has seized 16 domain names of websites illegally selling and distributing counterfeit goods over the Internet and arrested a New York man for producing and selling counterfeit goods using a trademark brand without permission.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement announces that the operator of a Los Angeles-area foreign trade zone (FTZ) and eight other individuals have been indicted for illegally importing nearly 200 shipments of Chinese-made apparel, mostly denim, into the U.S. to avoid an estimated $2 to $4 million in import duties.
During the July 2011 USA-ITA Annual Meeting, officials from the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative and the Commerce Department’s Office of Textiles and Apparel gave an update on U.S. trade policy affecting the textile and apparel industry. They discussed the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations; the short-supply provisions of the pending free trade agreements; announce a new DR-CAFTA1 Sourcing Directory; and provided policy updates on Haiti, Jordan, etc.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission published notice of the following additional voluntary recall for July 28, 2011:
The Consumer Product Safety Commission is scheduled to vote by August 4, 2011 on whether to accredit a private company lab as a "firewalled" third-party laboratory. If approved, Rhodia UK Limited would be accredited to perform tests under 16 CFR part 1615, "Standard for the Flammability of Children's Sleepwear: Sizes 0 through 6X (FF 3-71)" and 16 CFR part 1616, "Standard for the Flammability of Children's Sleepwear: Sizes 7 through 14 (FF 5-74)."
The Consumer Product Safety Commission published notice of the following voluntary recall for July 27-28, 2011:
According to a press source, the National Textile Association filed a petition on July 15 with the International Trade Commission on behalf of the U.S. upholstery textile manufacturing industry, which alleges unfair pricing of upholstery fabric imports from China from 2001-2010 that have been a significant cause of material injury to the U.S. industry. The NTA is requesting a 125% tariff on chenille upholstery fabric and 75% tariff on other upholstery fabrics cited in the petition. The petition also claims that China subsidizes its textile producers, and keeps Chinese currency undervalued.
The Consumer Product Safety Commission is scheduled to vote by August 1, 2011 on a proposed rule that would clarify and correct aspects of CPSC's December 2009 final rule on durable infant/toddler product registration. The 2009 rule requires manufacturers of durable infant or toddler products to: (1) provide with each product a postage-paid consumer registration form; (2) keep records of consumers who register such products; and (3) permanently mark each such product with the manufacturer’s name and contact information, model name, etc.