19th May 2014
Swaziland “fails to retain its AGOA status”: US Ambassador
Swaziland has lost its eligibility for America's AGOA duty free concession, the local US Ambassador announced on May 15, and goods shipped after December 31 will face full US import...
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13th January 2014
Haitians disenchanted with garment industry results
Among America's top 25 apparel supplying countries, Haiti's 14.6 growth in apparel exports to the US was the third fastest in 2013, and its garment workers earn the highest wages...
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12th January 2014
P3 shipping cartel launch looking likely to be delayed
By the first week of January, it began to look as if the launch date for the proposed P3 shipping cartel - which its members call an "alliance" - would...
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10th January 2014
US Congress moves on fast tracking trade deals
The US Senate and House of Representatives introduced legislation on January 9 to fast-track Congressional approval of trade agreements. Though business lobbies widely approved the move, criticism from other lobbies...
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29th December 2013
US to review Swazi eligibility for AGOA benefits
The US will review Swaziland's eligibility for duty-free access under the AGOA programme in May 2014, US Trade Representative Michael Froman announced on December 26. The decision follows a late...
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13th December 2013
The Bali Package 4: History shows how most “experts” get big trade initiatives wrong
We’ve had 20 years of global agreements like the Bali Package offering to revolutionise the textile and garment industries. They all did – but never as experts predicted. Public reception...
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4th December 2013
TPP: Apart from progress in negotiations, US approval timetable keeps looking longer
The likely timetable for the US Congress to approve whatever TPP negotiators agree kept getting longer throughout November, as agreement on how approval might happen looked ever more remote and...
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1st November 2013
US non-committal on Japan’s footwear quotas – and on economic value of brands
The US Administration appeared profoundly underwhelmed in its October 28 reaction to worries about Japan's Tariff Rate Quotas on footwear. The reaction indicates a failure so far by US apparel...
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31st October 2013
US lobbyists try to eliminate most footwear import duties. Again
On October 31 US footwear and apparel lobbyists welcomed - as they do every two years, usually about now - the traditional Bill calling for the repeal of import duty...
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31st October 2013
US ratchets up pressure on Guatemala over labour rights – a bit
The US has responded cautiously to what it sees as Guatemala's footdragging over labour rights. In a statement on October 28, United States Trade Representative Michael Froman threatened to reactivate an arbitration...
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30th October 2013
US legislation website gives “0%” likelihood NCTO-backed tougher Customs Bill will even be discussed in Congress
US legislation assessment website Govtrack.us has assigned a zero percent likelihood the proposed Textile Enforcement and Security Act of 2013 (TESA) will ever even be discussed in the US Senate. The...
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25th October 2013
US non-committal on Pakistani hints about trade concessions
A three-day visit to Washington by Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif concluded on October 23 with no firm commitment by the US on expanding bilateral trade ties. Ahead of Sharif’s...
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