AAFA lauds extension of Andean trade pact

AAFA lauds extension of Andean trade pact    American Apparel & Footwear Association President and Chief Executive Officer Kevin Burke on Friday said Congressional approval of a package of trade provisions related to the Caribbean Basin, the Andean region and Africa is to be applauded.
   Congress approved a one-year extension for Colombia and Peru under the Andean Trade Preferences Act), six-month extensions for Bolivia and Ecuador under the ATPA, and a one-year extension for the Generalized System of Preferences. The bill creates a new Earned Import Allowance Program for the Dominican Republic, which will provide crucial help for Dominican trouser producers and their U.S. fabric suppliers, AAFA said. The bill also makes 'critically important changes regarding third country fabric provisions in the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act.'
   'AAFA congratulates the Congress for its swift action this week,' Burke said. 'These programs were urgently needed.'
   Burke said he was particularly grateful for Congressional action on the Andean program — three months before the program was set to expire — to ensure continued growth in the U.S./Andean textile trade partnership.
   'About $250 million worth of U.S. cotton and textiles were exported to the four Andean countries of Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru last year,' he said. 'American jobs depend on fair, two-way trade with the Andean region and other developing nations worldwide.'