The National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) has voiced strong support for President Donald Trump’s recently unveiled reciprocal tariff plan, which aims to rebalance U.S. trade policies and enhance domestic manufacturing.
In a statement from NCTO president and CEO Kim Glas, the organization praised the plan for its inclusion of maintaining duty-free trade under the US-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) and reinforcing enforcement against predatory practices from countries like China and Vietnam. The NCTO support for the reciprocal tariff initiative reflects the organization’s commitment to strengthening the textile industry.
“We strongly commend President Trump and his administration on their tariff reciprocity plan to finally begin rebalancing America’s trade positioning,” Glas stated. “This is a critical step for the 471,000 workers employed in the U.S. textile industry.”
The NCTO lauded the administration’s choice to uphold duty-free access for compliant imports from Mexico and Canada, which together account for 53 percent of U.S. global textile exports, valued at $12.3 billion. The annual two-way trade, totaling $20 billion, is essential to the American textile supply chain.
Glas emphasized the necessity of continuing to penalize unfair trade practices from China, Vietnam, and other Asian nations. She called on the administration to sustain long-term tariffs on finished textile and apparel products from these countries to ensure a fair competitive environment for domestic manufacturers.
The NCTO also advocated for the ongoing duty-free treatment for nations included in the Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR), which supports 2.6 million jobs and accounts for $34 billion in annual two-way trade.
Furthermore, Glas commended the Trump administration’s initiative to close the de minimis loophole, which presently permits around 4 million shipments per day into the U.S. without duties or inspections—many of which consist of textile and apparel items. “NCTO has long called for the closure of this destructive loophole,” she remarked.
In closing, Glas reiterated the industry’s commitment to a robust enforcement strategy, stating, “If aggressively enforced and paired with long-term certainty, there is a huge opportunity to reshore production and grow jobs in the United States.” This ongoing NCTO support for the reciprocal tariff policies will be crucial in achieving these objectives.
