Members of the U.S. Congress are lining up to support the Trade Reform, Accountability, Development and Employment (TRADE) Act, which has 106 initial sponsors from both political parties. The legislation would make sweeping changes in U.S. trade policy, including renegotiation of free trade agreements (FTAs) to ensure national security, product safety, human rights and environmental [...]

A U.S. House of Representatives bill on climate change and energy passed by a seven-vote margin, and textile lobbyists vow to work on a Senate version that answers manufacturers’ concerns. The National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) opposed the bill, “because it will significantly increase energy costs for domestic manufacturers and not those of its [...]

President Barack Obama, along with Presidents Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, talked tough about tackling U.S. trade issues with China on the campaign trail. However, like his predecessors, President Obama may have to focus on other critical national issues before China trade comes up in his priority list. The Obama administration did, [...]

The exile of Honduran President Manuel Zelaya and military takeover of that Central American nation captured the attention of trade associations and university professors—and the Obama Administration is hearing from both. Honduras is the third largest market for U.S. textile mill products and fourth largest supplier of apparel to U.S. markets. A letter from 11 [...]

Only Vietnam increased its textile and apparel imports to the U.S. in the first half of 2009; China and all other countries decreased imports, according to a U.S. Commerce Department report. January through June imports dropped 10.3 percent from the same period in 2008, and the value of the imports declined by 14.3 percent to [...]

In the first half of 2009, Japanese nonwoven production decreased 23.2 percent from the previous year, to 132,288 tons, according to the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. Production decreased in all categories. Production of needle-punched nonwovens for automobile applications fell by 40 percent, the largest decline, with significant impact on overall production. Spunlace fabric [...]

IntelliMark, a system of brand and product authentication for consumer goods, documents, food and apparel, is based on a microscopic ®mark® covert marker integrated into products which can be viewed with a specialized detection instrument. The anti-counterfeit process emerged from a partnership between ARmark Authentication Technologies LLC, Glen Rock, Pa. (experts at integrating marks into [...]

Look for ads in Google, fax mailings or trade fair exhibits about a new website where European textile sellers and buyers can advertise products to a wider audience—a business-to-business European marketplace for textile manufacturers and suppliers. Textiles-online.com, launched by a Netherlands-based company, will give suppliers registered on the site 10 free advertisements, each of which [...]

Fostering global business relationships was key to Moto Nohmura’s leadership and Taiyo Kogyo’s success. By Kikuko Tagawa During the ATA Japan meeting in April 2009, Moto Nohmura, ATA Japan honorary chair, shared insights about his business experiences in the U.S. ATA Japan director, Kikuko Tagawa, ATA Japan directors Hideyuki Nishikawa and Toshio Katayama, who was [...]

Moss Inc. announced that Joyce Read has joined its national sales team to direct its sports marketing initiative. Read’s sales skills were honed at the Mary Kay organization, where she attained her highest level in personal sales at number four in the Diamond Seminar. Along with her love of sports and innate design sense, those [...]