garment mfg in the usa, probably not

WILL GARMENT MANUFACTURING COME BACK TO THE USA?

Below explains why the “holier than thou” outdoor clothing industry does not want to get production back in the USA.

New Tariff Codes for Outerwear Take Effect

Posted by Charlie Lunan | Aug 25, 2016 | Apparel, Apparel Trade, Outdoor, Outdoor Trade, SGB Updates, Sportsman, Sportsman Trade, Update | 0 |

New definitions of and tariff codes for woven “recreational performance outerwear” in the U.S. Harmonized Tariff Schedule (HTS) took effect August 24 that could hasten lower duty rates on such imports if Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) gets its way. These new lines are a key provision of the U.S. OUTDOOR Act, Outdoor Industry Association’s (OIA) signature piece of trade legislation that will eliminate tariffs on recreational performance outerwear, noted OIA Manager of International Trade Rich Harper. Performance outerwear are among the most highly taxed outdoor products. Despite the lack of competitive U.S. commercial manufacturing, these popular jackets and pants still face tariffs averaging 14 percent, with some as high as 28 percent. Although the U.S. OUTDOOR Act is still pending, Congress included the new codes in the Trade Preferences Extension Act of 2015 and today they come into effect. Recreational performance outerwear is specialized apparel designed to withstand the rigors of outdoor recreation. For the first time, the HTS recognizes that these products should no longer be classified under the same codes as ready made, mass-market apparel. You can learn more about which products may qualify as recreational performance outerwear and the new tariff lines here.

The new lines will help the industry track imports of recreational performance outerwear and set the stage for securing the remaining provisions of the U.S. OUTDOOR Act: The elimination of import tariffs on the new recreational performance outerwear lines and The creation of the Sustainable Textile and Apparel Research Fund (STAR Fund) to support the research and development of sustainable textile and apparel supply chains. Getting unique and specific tariff lines for recreational performance outerwear was a great first step; now OIA is focused on getting the rest of the U.S. OUTDOOR Act across the finish line.

The people who live and work in Asia, name the country especially China are asking for better wages and they are getting them. That means as far as the textile industry is concerned wages across the board are increasing. The makers of the yarn, weavers and knitters of the yarn, dyers and finishers of the fabric and eventually the cutters and sewers of the fabric to finished garments. Then you can add in the services that require the use of oil in transportation at all levels. The end result is an increase in costs for the finished garments. What to do, what to do! Let us get government involved, but how? Petition some civil servant from the congress to sponsor a proposal you have written that will lower the tariffs on your products to offset the cost increases of the finished product being made in China as an example.

You can’t just say I make shirts and jackets and pants of all types, noooooooooooooooo, you create a new category of product in name only. You name your clothing items “RECREATIONAL PERFORMANCE OUTERWEAR”! Very cleaver, don’t you think! I suspect somebody in the employ of the OUTDOOR INDUSTRY ASSOCIATION (OIA) may very well be the originator of the new category; however it could have been anyone working for any of the garment importers who are members of the association as well or maybe even an attorney if they need one to write the proposal.

The largest of companies who are located in the USA but get all of their product made in Asia such as; Adidas, The North Face, Columbia, REI or LL Bean to name just a few have done quite well over the years and spout about having a special footprint not damaging the earth or ending child labor in these counties but could care less about what happens in the USA. I do not personally think they give a damn about seeing a resurgence of manufacturing in the USA, because here you must pay higher wages than exist in Asia. Also, here they might have to own a factory which they do not do in Asia. Do any of them want to produce in the USA, NO!

What these companies are doing is changing the designation of the garment to get a reduction in tariffs knowing full well that 98 percent of the people buying their garments are not professional athletes but just everyday people who buy based upon style and do not ever consider if the garment does what is claimed. The garments are popular based upon the look or how the individual looks in them. They are mass market garments. Chances are the individual who buys the garment finds out in short order it doesn’t function as claimed but they don’t care, if they did they would return them.

What these companies are doing is contrary to what every politician talks about “bringing jobs back to America” but then these same politicians take steps to avoid that by supporting an industry that just wants to get their products as cheap as possible. Therefore, the companies are contradicting themselves with their actions and of course the politicians are contradicting themselves. Out west the expression from the Native American population is that they are being spoken to with “forked tongues”. We are spoken to with forked tongues as well.

How about the “SUSTAINABLE TEXTILE AND APPAREL RESEARCH FUND” working for whom exactly? Not the American consumer for sure. What do they actually do; hocus pokes work. They come up with theories about how textiles can be changed so they don’t kill people as if fabric has and is continuing to do. The only activity this organization has is how to keep the flow of contributions coming in to make payroll since they otherwise create nothing. Maybe they check to see that the fabrics used by Asian manufacturers have less toxic chemicals now than before, guaranteeing that the fabrics used are okay to be put into garments worn by humans.

The U.S. OUTDOOR ACT is a bad deal for us consumers. Just another ploy by many large corporations to influence some politician to do their bidding, which would make it even more difficult for someone to manufacture similar products in the USA. This “act” is bad for us here in the USA. It shows that these corporations are only concerned with their bottom line and certainly not the workers in Asia or the potential workers here. I am not against free trade or corporations making profit. I am however against getting government involved in the world of business and these so called entrepreneurs should use their brains to figure out the best ways to run their companies, not look for favors. Unfortunately the favor factor is what we seem to live with.