The National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO), represents its full spectrum of U.S. textiles coming from fiber through finished sewn products has launched its all-new blog at www.TextilesintheNews.org.The blog will have posts on varied  issues and developments in the U.S. textile industry, relating from trade policy, regulatory and legislative updates to profiles on American textile companies to features on innovations, sustainability efforts and human interest stories.

NCTO is a Washington, DC-based trade association that represents domestic textile manufacturers, including artificial and synthetic filament and fiber producers. U.S. employment in the textile supply chain was 594,147 in 2018. The value of shipments for U.S. textiles and apparel was $76.8 billion in 2018. U.S. exports of fiber, textiles, and apparel were $30.1 billion in 2018. Capital expenditures for textile and apparel production totaled $2.0 billion in 2017.

The World Trade Organisation (WTO) has ruled against at least five of India’s export promotion schemes, saying it was granting prohibited subsidies. The US had approached the multilateral body in protest against India’s grant of subsidies. However, the US claims regarding a subset of exemptions from customs duties and an exemption from excise duties were rejected by the WTO. The US had dragged India to the WTO in March 2018, questioning its export promotion schemes as the trade battle between the two countries intensified.

India has been given 90 to 180 days to withdraw concessions under the schemes, which include the Merchandise Exports from India Scheme, the Special Economic Zones scheme, the Export Oriented Units, Electronics Hardware Technology Park and Bio-Technology Park schemes, the Export Promotion Capital Goods and the Duty-Free Imports for Exporters schemes.

WTO says India grants prohibited export subsidies in the form of exemptions from customs duties, deductions from taxable income, and the issuance of notes or scrips that firms can use to pay off certain debts. India is said to provide prohibited subsidies to Indian exporters worth more than $7 billion annually to producers of steel products, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, information technology products, textiles, and apparel, to the detriment of American workers and manufacturers.

India has raised objections to the proposed Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) pact. Sections of Indian industry, farmers and the dairy sector have expressed concerns over the mega trade deal. Many of the demands raised by India are in the area of enhanced coverage of items under the auto trigger mechanism and the relatively tougher rules of origin. While the auto trigger mechanism will lead to an increase in import duties as soon as inflows of a particular product rise beyond a certain threshold, the tough rules of origin aim to ensure that there is substantial value addition to a product before it is exported to another country where it is eligible for preferential duties. The apprehension being felt by many industrial sectors and farmers on a possible flooding of the market with cheap imports once import duties on goods from China are pared is one of the reasons behind India’s hard posture at the negotiations.

The RCEP deal is being negotiated by 16 countries, including the 10-member Asean, China, India, South Korea, Japan, Australia and New Zealand. It is one of the largest free trade deals being negotiated globally, accounting for about half the world’s population and a third of its GDP.

Cotton USA and Oritain have signed a partnership to provide industry leading, forensic verification of origin for all US cotton.

A global first for the cotton industry, this collaboration will give brands and retailers the assurance they need to make responsible sourcing and purchasing decisions. This partnership with Oritain is expected to provide Cotton USA with a unique selling point in both domestic and export markets. US cotton can offer the highest level of end-to-end traceability in the industry, combined with a raw material that is leading the way in terms of sustainable practices – two things that global clothing brands now demand from their suppliers. Oritain will support Cotton USA which is making a conscious effort to find real, workable ways of farming more sustainably. The result is a high-quality crop that not only performs well but supports the environment. Now through Oritain, customers who choose US cotton can have total confidence that they are getting the product that they sourced. Oritain’s unique method applies forensic science to detect trace elements in the cotton itself.

Cotton USA takes the lead when it comes to traceability. Guaranteeing origin will address traceability challenges faced by the global cotton industry, including minimizing the risk of supply chain partners blending the product with lower quality fibers.

A a new report from Textiles Intelligence ‘Compression wear and shapewear: supporting health and fitness’, reveals market for shapewear is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of over 4 per cent to to reach $1.1 billion.

Growth will be due in part to the increase in popularity of shapewear, particularly among young women, teenagers and men. For many of these consumers, physical appearance has taken on greater importance as a result of pressures associated with social media and a selfie culture.

Garments with body shaping properties have been shown to make such consumers feel more positive about their physical appearance. For example, a recent survey found that three out of every four women who participated in the survey reported that they felt much more confident when wearing shapewear.

The growth of the global shapewear market will also be due in part to the increasing popularity of shapewear among pop culture icons and celebrities. Product improvements and innovations will also spur the growth of the global shapewear market. Shapewear has been recently transformed by the use of seamless technologies. In cases where shapewear was once considered to be restrictive and unpleasant, it is now considered to be flattering, stylish and comfortable.

Bestseller has chosen six organisations to set up the Brand-Pulje community. These include Brand Taekwondo Club, Bondegarden Brande, Urban Street Zone, Brande Theatre Company, Verdenmiddag and Brande Street Art. In order to make its support of the Brande community more systematic, Bestseller has introduced a yearly window – from May 1 to June 1 – to apply for local sponsorships.

Applications will be judged on the impact they will have on Brande and surrounding towns, and whether the initiative will inspire pride amongst Bestseller colleagues.

Brande-pulje’ aims to support the projects and initiatives that will be most significant for both the local community and for Bestseller. By creating a sponsorship pool, which accepts applications once a year, the company will have the best chance to choose the right projects.

The 7th edition of Techtextil India 2019 will witness participation by over 160 exhibitors including international stakeholders like Austria, Belgium, China, France, Germany, Italy, Korea, The Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Spain, and China/Taiwan. Techtextil India is the leading international trade fair for technical textile and non-woven offering complete solutions of the entire value chain of 12 application areas from Agrotech to Sporttech which address all visitors’ target groups. Attracting investors from all over the country, the show will prove to be a lucrative platform for the international companies that will facilitate growth by enabling businesses and professionals to build trade relations, evaluate market trends and share technical expertise.

The show will open an array of opportunities during its schedule from November 20 – 22, 2019 at Bombay Exhibition Center, Mumbai. The conference will attract speakers and delegates representing the entire cross-section and stakeholders at a common platform, including the leading machinery manufacturers, raw material suppliers, fabric suppliers, the end-product manufacturers, consultants, startups/new entrepreneurs, investors, research and development companies, testing, and certification authorities and industry associations, major textile institutions, etc.

The show will also host the Techtextil India Symposium which is the premier forum for the technical textiles industry (including nonwovens and composites) bringing together top-level speakers, technical specialists and highly qualified professionals across the industry.

In 2018, PVH’s revenue was up eight per cent. The fashion giant is on the lookout for new brands, or a portfolio of brands, that it can layer on to its operating platform. PVH has done three major acquisitions: Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger and Warnaco, which owns the Calvin Klein Jeans and Underwear licenses. Currently, it has paid all the debts associated with these acquisitions.

US-based PVH Corp is the owner among others of Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger. The group has cut production of goods made in China for the US market. Three or four years ago, about 35 per cent of its production for the US was sourced from China. Next year, it is looking at something that’s closer to 10 per cent. PVH may raise the prices of certain products to compensate for inflationary pressures.

PVH’s business is strongly anchored in the US, where in 2018 it generated 46 per cent of its sales, but the group is reorganising itself in the US market. Tommy Hilfiger has been working to boost its appeal in China, engineering double-digit growth in the country in 2018. Asia accounts for 12 per cent of the group’s sales.

Bangladesh is looking forward to signing a Free Trade Area (FTA) with the US. Bangladesh hopes to benefit from the FTA. Readymade garment products made in Bangladesh currently attract a 15 per cent duty on an average in order to enter the US market. Because Bangladesh only imports capital machinery from the US, whose duty are comparatively low, by signing an FTA, the benefits which Bangladesh will be gaining will be obviously more.

Bangladesh has failed to get back the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) facility from the US. GSP was suspended for Bangladesh in 2013 during the Rana Plaza collapse. After that, various human rights and safety issues have become a barrier in the relationship between Bangladesh and the USA. Bangladesh was confident significant progress had been made regarding workplace safety and workers’ rights. It tried convincing US decision makers that any previous worries should no longer prevent new trading ventures being created. The US remains Bangladesh’s largest export market. Bangladesh's exports to the US have doubled in the last ten years.

GSP is a US trade initiative designed to stimulate growth in emerging economies. This is achieved by offering duty free exports. Over the years, a number of countries have been suspended from GSP as they have failed to maintain GSP requirements. In most cases, countries regain their status once they take steps to address the issues.

ATE has tied up with Card-Monroe Corp, (CMC), USA to market tufting machines in India. Located in Chattanooga, Tennessee (USA), CMC has been manufacturing and supplying tufting machines to the global carpet industry for over 35 years, expanding their installed base to 37 countries. The company manufactures state-of-the-art tufting machines of all types, allowing their customers to choose a machine that meets their exact needs. Its R&D department is focused on improving its machines’ carpet designing capabilities, quality, run-ability, and productivity.

A team of qualified service engineers are available worldwide for set-ups and services of new and existing tufting machines. A full-fledged training centre allows customers to learn about the optimal operation and maintenance of CMC tufting machines.

ATE has over 80 years of experience in the Indian textile industry and is a domain expert in the manufacturing of a wide range of textiles, providing end-to-end solutions. The company is uniquely positioned to support and supply all the equipment needed for carpet manufacturing; right from BCF yarn production line from Truetzschler, carpet yarn heat setting line from Power Heat Set, digital printing from Zimmer, carpet back coating from Yamuna, carpet shearing from XetmaVollenweider, carpet confection lines from Matthys Group, and robotic tufting from EFAB. With this partnership, ATE brings yet another innovative technology to the Indian carpet manufacturing industry, which will help carpet manufacturers gain a competitive edge.