Please note that information on this page may be outdated by the time you read the details.  When researching trade agreements it is very important that you visit the official government websites for the most current details.  This information below is for historical reference and a general guide for our industry.

Information below originally posted April 2015.  We will try to make updates when possible.

What does the T-TIP mean for the fashion industry?

The Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (T-TIP) is an ambitious, comprehensive, and high-standard trade and investment agreement being negotiated between the United States and the European Union (EU). T-TIP will help unlock opportunity for American families, workers, businesses, farmers and ranchers through increased access to European markets for Made-in-America goods and services. This will help to promote U.S. international competitiveness, jobs and growth.

The U.S. and EU economies are two of the most modern, most developed, and most committed to high standards of consumer protection in the world.  T-TIP aims to bolster that already strong relationship in a way that will help boost economic growth and add to the more than 13 million American and EU jobs already supported by transatlantic trade and investment. T-TIP will be a cutting edge agreement aimed at providing greater compatibility and transparency in trade and investment regulation, while maintaining high levels of health, safety, and environmental protection. T-TIP presents an extraordinary opportunity to strengthen the bond between vital strategic and economic partners.

So, what does the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership mean to the apparel industry?

Re: Textiles and Apparel

The goal is to seek and obtain fully reciprocal access to the EU market for U.S. textile and apparel products, supported by effective and efficient customs cooperation and other rules to facilitate U.S.-EU trade in textiles and apparel.

U.S. textile and apparel manufacturers sold nearly $2.4 billion worth of products to the EU last year (2014).  Eliminating the remaining duties on US exports will create new opportunities for integration into European supply chains and to sell high-quality “made-in-USA” garments to European consumers.  Enhanced U.S.-EU customs cooperation will also help ensure that non-qualifying textiles and apparel from third countries are not being imported into the United States under T-TIP.

USTR's Special Textile Negotiator's office is responsible for international trade negotiations affecting textile and apparel products, at the multilateral, regional and bilateral level, including a particular emphasis on opening foreign markets to domestic producers. 

The office is also responsible for ongoing liaison and contact with domestic stakeholders and Congress, many of whom have divergent interests, on the Administration's trade policy decisions and trade negotiations affecting sector products.

The office works closely with United States trading partners to fully implement USA trade agreements, and work on ways to maximize our industry's use of existing agreements, as well as in furtherance of common interests in the sector. They also monitor developments in the USA partner markets to ensure compliance with our countries trade agreements as they affect the sector.

Finally, the office provides technical and policy advice to other USTR offices and other Administration offices on trade policy issues affecting the textile and apparel sector.

In an effort to continue providing the public with information on T-TIP, this Office of the United States Trade Representative website includes a number of resources, they include a summary of U.S. objectives, negotiating round and public forum information, T-TIP blog posts, facts sheets, reports, and press releases. 

You may be interested in the following news posted April 15, 2015:  Statement by U.S. Trade Representative Michael Froman on the Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act

“We're pleased to see Congress moving forward with bipartisan trade legislation that will help support more good jobs at home and strengthen the American middle class. This is a time for America to choose to lead, not stand on the sidelines. The Bipartisan Congressional Trade Priorities and Accountability Act will provide an important set of new tools to fight for American values and American interests. 
 
The Bipartisan Trade Priorities and Accountability Act represents the most significant upgrade to our approach to trade in over four decades, including the requirement that labor and environmental protections be fully enforceable; new requirements for taking on unfairly subsidized foreign state owned enterprises; strong and balanced intellectual property protections; and new consultations and transparency requirements. These provisions put American workers first and reflect the seismic shifts we have seen in the global economy since 2002, when Congress last passed trade promotion legislation.
 
TPA will move us one step closer to delivering trade agreements like the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Trans-Atlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (T-TIP) which will open growing markets to “Made in America” exports, protect our workers, and ensure that America, not our competitors, sets the rules of the road on trade. I look forward to continuing to work with Congress to pass TPA, along with Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) and a renewal of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), with bipartisan support.”

You may also want to visit the United States Office of Textiles & Apparel website.

Learn about apparel factories in the United States in our manufacturers guide section.