U.S. senators propose to support the bipartisan bill of the U.S. textile and clothing industry

US Senator Kay R. Hagen (D-NC) and Graham (R-SC) recently reintroduced a bipartisan bill aimed at cracking down on fraud and illegal trade practices that damage the US textile industry. The Textile Enforcement and Security Act (TESA) will strengthen the enforcement and supervision of the textile and apparel trade. Textiles and clothing have been damaged by the increase in illicit trafficking and tax evasion. Among the US industrial products, the textile and clothing industries have suffered the most fraud cases.

The Senate textile core group United ** Hagan said: “The unemployment rate in North Carolina is 10.4%, which is unacceptably high. I am not allowed to let one of the largest industries in my state due to the unacceptable trade rules. And become a disability industry. Thousands of North Carolina people are employed in the textile industry and they produce some of the best products in the world. This bipartisan bill ensures that our country needs something to combat fraud. Resources, extortion, undermined the North Carolina textile mills, and I look forward to working with Senator Graham and my colleagues to pass this pro-employment bill as soon as possible.

Graham said: "I am very proud to join Senator Hagen in proposing a new and improved Textile Law Enforcement and Security Act. This common-sense bill combats fraud by strengthening existing customs enforcement mechanisms and creating new tools. We and I thank the men and women of the textile industry for their hard work. They are fighting against those who use law enforcement loopholes to protect their products. This bill is precisely for this, and I look forward to seeing the provisions of the bill become law.”

The US textile industry is the third largest textile export industry in the world. It relies on proper customs enforcement to protect American companies and employment opportunities. Last year, the US textile industry exported 19 billion U.S. dollars, nearly three quarters of which were exported to countries that signed trade agreements with the United States. However, insiders in the industry have seen that in many of these countries, illicit trafficking and tax evasion have increased dramatically by underestimating the currency, mislabelling, and impersonating companies in fake companies. It is estimated that due to this kind of customs fraud, the annual loss is estimated to be up to 1 billion US dollars.

Specifically, the textile law enforcement and security law reads as follows:

• Establish an electronic verification process to track yarn and fabric imports in free trade agreement countries;

• Increased the number of textile and garment inspection experts in 15 of the largest textile and apparel import ports in the United States;

• Increase the number of textile staff at the Customs and Border Protection headquarters and re-designate their jobs to be responsible for verification of trade preferences. In the past five years, the staff at the headquarters has been significantly reduced.

• The list of fraudsters in this area needs to be published.

• Create a new centralized database of importers and allow Customs and Border Protection to adjust guarantee requirements for high-risk textile and apparel importers.