Representing North Carolina’s Ninth District                                                                        

To say that the textile industry is hurting would be an understatement.  Over the years, I’ve spoken with countless workers whom have either lost a textile job or fear that they are about to.  For that reason, I have continued to work in Congress to do what I can to preserve the viability of the textile industry and to ensure jobs for the thousands of people who work in it.

I have grown increasingly concerned with a few recent events and the detrimental implication they might have on North Carolina’s textile workers.  For instance, the government of Indonesia has decided to ban textile imports from the United States and other foreign producers in response to increased imports from China.  This decision is not only a violation of the established trade standards of the World Trade Organization (WTO), but also an egregious threat to the very principle of fair trade.  As such, I spearheaded a letter signed by twenty-three Members of Congress from textile states to President Bush asking that his Administration immediately challenge Indonesia’s unwarranted action.

I am also concerned about the U.S. tariff proposal that was recently submitted to the WTO.  To his credit, President Bush has remained true to his word to listen to the concerns of the textile industry and to work to lower the unfair tariffs that other countries have placed on American textiles.  In this instance, however, I am worried that the U.S. tariff proposal could possibly harm the textile industry.  Under the proposal, other countries would be required to lower their extremely high textile tariffs as we lower our textile tariffs.  However, despite the fact that foreign producers would be lowering their tariffs at a drastic rate, I believe we should not lower our tariff rates until other countries come down to our level.  If we truly want to attain a fair, balanced and level playing field, other countries must lower their tariffs to the same level as ours.  In my opinion, it is simply a matter of fundamental fairness.  I have been in contact with the U.S. Department of Commerce and spoken personally to the U.S. Trade Representative Robert Zoellick regarding this matter as well.  You can be sure that I will continue to work to protect and preserve our textile industry. 

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