Wednesday, January 30, 2008
For advertising information, contact Jeanna Sheldon at jeanna.sheldon@hosieryassociation.com.
Advertising rates for both HOSIERY NEWS AND INSIDER
and THA’s Website can be found (here).

The WSA Show’s Educational Sessions Feature Unparalleled Insight into all Facets of Footwear: The WSA Show, the world’s largest footwear and accessories marketplace, announces an all-encompassing seminar series designed to suit attendees from all facets of the industry from buying, marketing and merchandising to sourcing, product design and development. With nine individual seminars and four workshops, no other seminar series in the industry presents the assortment of speakers and topics that this powerful global marketplace has to offer. The Footwear & Accessories Business Conference will be held at the Mandalay Bay Convention Center from February 20-23 in Las Vegas. Full press release is available (here) or for more information, visit www.wsashow.com.

Legwear Trends Seminar Featured during WSA 2008 - The Hosiery Association’s (THA) president and CEO Sally Kay will conduct the first seminar on women’s and children’s legwear trends (Fall/Winter ‘08/’09) during the World Shoes Accessories Show (WSA) on February 22, 2008 at the Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas, NV.

Legislative/Regulatory Relations Group Appoints Romulus Global Issues Management

In the midst of a highly volatile presidential and congressional campaign season, legislators and federal agencies may act on a wide array of trade, tax, labor, environment, government procurement, labeling, product liability and other issues that could alter the competitive landscape for legwear manufacturers and wholesalers for years to come. The goal of this newly formed committee is to educate the membership and distribute information on all governmental issues that may impact their businesses. This group along with staff will be working closely with the team at Romulus to provide strong value for membership and to ensure the interests of its member companies are effectively addressed as debate on these and other issues continues. Please contact THA at 704-365-013 or email hosierytha@aol.com if you are interested in getting involved with this initiative.

NEW Member Directory: Please note that we are creating a new, online member directory on the website. A database update worksheet has been sent to all primary association contacts for THA member companies. Company logos and profiles will be collected and available for users to contact directly to learn more about your products and services 24 hours a day 7 days a week. If you did not receive your company’s update form, please email vicki.camp@hosieryassociation.com and request a copy of it. The directory is currently scheduled to go on line in February.

NEW Product Sales: Please note that we will soon be allowing our member companies to sell their legwear products through our website! The THA website receives considerable consumer traffic on its site and requests to purchase product; therefore, we are going to make it easier for them and give our members the opportunity to sell legwear products through additional e-tailing venues. Stay tuned for more details.

THA Member-Only Section to THA’s Website: Continue to visit the Member-Only section of the website as we update its contents regularly.

Creora® Inspired New Intimate and Underwear Directions at Interfilière in Paris January 24-26. Four key Textile Directions for intimates and underwear, Modern Sculpture, Nature’s Gift, Light Illusion and Antiquity were shown at Interfilière by Hyosung’s creora® the second largest spandex producer in the world. Click here for complete Press Release.

Hyosung Launches reginTM Recycled Nylon and Polyester at ISPO – As one of the world’s largest producers of nylon-6 fiber and polyester, Hyosung’s Nylon and Polyester Performance Units have had a long history of environmental stewardship by recycling both lower grade and waste nylon and polyester produced during the manufacturing process. Click here for complete Press Release.

Creora® Sets a Dynamic Pace with Key Directions at ISPO January 27-30. Four key Textile Directions for activewear, Intelligent Action, Impact, Energy Preserve and Comfort Zone, were shown at ISPO by creora®, the second largest spandex producer in the world. Click here for complete Press Release.

Economic Census Information: In December, more than 4 million American businesses, including 200,000 manufacturers received 2007 Economic Census forms. Responses to the questionnaire are required by law (Title 13, U.S. Code), and are to be returned by February 12, 2008. Every 5 years, the Economic Census develops a comprehensive portrait of American business, from the national to the local level. Timely and accurate data are vital to effective public policy and important to our association. Please refer to the timeline below and visit the following website. <business.census.gov>.

January 2008-Economic Census:Your industry/community is counting on you.
February 2008-Economic Census forms are due February 12.

China International Hosiery Purchasing Exposition 2008 & China Hosiery Forum 2008 - Event will be held March 3-5, 2008 at the Shanghai Everbright Convention & Exhibition Center in Shanghai, China. For additional information, contact Kim Yang at k.yang@gehuaexpo.com or visit their website at www.chpe.com.cn.

ITMA 2011 Date Changed: “ITMA 2011 will now start a day earlier than originally planned, announced show owner, the European Committee of Textile Machinery Manufacturers (CEMATEX). It will be held from September 22 to 29, 2011, at the same place, the new Fira de Barcelona Gran Via venue in Barcelona.”

Commerce Announces New Data Series Showing Export Growth in U.S. Metro Areas
Last week the Department of Commerce announced the introduction of a new data series that measures export values for U.S. metropolitan areas. According to a DOC press release, this data series shows that in 2006 116 such areas recorded product sales of $1 billion or more and U.S. exporters reported a record $1.4 trillion in goods and services exports. Commerce expects that the 2007 numbers will surpass the 2006 totals. The data series includes merchandise (but not service) export values for 369 metropolitan areas. The data, available for 2005 and 2006, contains metro area exports as a percent of the state total, where possible; product exports to individual countries for the 50 largest metro areas; top global export product categories; and total exports to 10 regional destinations

New NAFTA Short Supply Request on Acrylic Fibers. The Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements is seeking comments by Feb. 25 on a NAFTA short supply request received Jan. 14. The petitioner alleges that certain solution dyed, wet spun acrylic fibers, not carded, combed or otherwise processed for spinning, classified under HTSUS 5503.30, cannot be supplied by the domestic industry in commercial quantities in a timely manner. The petitioner is therefore requesting that CITA consider whether the NAFTA rule of origin for warp pile fabrics classified under HTSUS 5801.35 should be modified to allow the use of non-North American solution dyed, wet spun acrylic fiber.

EU Climate Change Policies May Prompt Trade Measures
U.S. and European Union trade officials said this week that the EU should not use environmental concerns as a pretext for imposing protectionist trade policies. But other EU officials said import measures could be imposed to protect European manufacturers required to comply with tougher environmental standards. Last week the EU released a wide-ranging plan to cut greenhouse gas emissions in the region by one-fifth by 2020. To help European industries that would face tougher and costlier environmental rules than their foreign competitors under this plan, European officials such as European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso and French President Nicolas Sarkozy have proposed to implement tariff increases or other measures against imports from countries whose standards are not as high. U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab, pointed out that opening up trade could be an incentive to promote environmental change. Trade should be used “as a positive contributor to environmental causes” and not as “an excuse for trade protectionism,” she said. Otherwise this issue could become another environment-related clash between the U.S. and EU, following the two trading partners’ long-running conflict over genetically modified products and an emerging dispute over U.S. support for its biofuel industry.

Quota Charge Statement Clarification; Feb. 13 COAC Meeting Clarification on Quota Charge Statement for Imports from China. U.S. Customs and Border Protection recently issued a memorandum clarifying the use of the quota charge statement. Specifically, a QCS must be available upon request by CBP for goods subject to quota and/or visa requirements from China, although CBP does not require it at the time of entry. According to CBP, the QCS continues to be an entry requirement for textiles and textile products that are subject to export controls of a foreign government and have admissibility concerns if the appropriate quota/visa information is not transmitted to CBP upon entry. Currently, this type of quota is in effect only for China. When quotas were removed from China and other countries on Jan. 1, 2005, and China became subject to safeguards, CBP issued memorandum TBT-05-009 indicating that a QCS was not required for textiles subject to a safeguard restraint because such goods did not require the issuance of a visa. Since then, however, the U.S. has negotiated a memorandum of understanding with China establishing quota levels for various textiles and textile products. This quota arrangement requires the transmission of an electronic visa for goods to be admissible as well as the submission of a QCS at CBP request. CBP notes that a QCS is not needed for those countries subject to visa requirements pursuant to the African Growth and Opportunity Act or the Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity through Partnership Encouragement Act, nor is it required to support certificate of eligibility claims for textiles subject to tariff preference levels.

U.S.-China Commission to Hold Feb. 7 Hearing on Sovereign Wealth Funds - The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission will hold an open hearing Feb. 7 in Washington, D.C., to address the implications of sovereign wealth fund investment on national security. This hearing is the first in a series of public hearings the commission will hold in 2008 to collect input from leading experts in academia, business, industry, government and the public. The hearing seeks to obtain commentary about the status of U.S.-China relations, from economic, security and diplomatic perspectives, to assess the progress of the bilateral relationship since the granting of permanent normalized trade relations to China in 2000 and to identify the challenges facing the relationship in 2008.

CITA Moves to Impose Safeguard on Cotton Socks from Honduras
The Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements announced Jan. 18 that it intends to apply a safeguard measure under DR-CAFTA against imports of cotton socks from Honduras. According to a Commerce Department press release, CITA made this determination after finding that such imports totaled 27.3 million dozen pairs during the period January-November 2007, a 99 percent increase from a year earlier. However, no safeguard will be applied against imports of wool and manmade fiber socks from Honduras at this time. CITA has notified the Honduran government of its intention to impose this safeguard measure. Honduras may now request consultations on the matter, and any such consultations would have to be completed within 60 days of the request. The U.S. would then be required to decide whether to apply the safeguard measure within 30 days of completion of the consultations. An affirmative U.S. decision would increase the duty on all Honduran-origin cotton socks within category 332 (including those knit in the U.S.) to a level that does not exceed the lesser of (a) the prevailing U.S. most-favored-nation duty rate for the item at the time the measure is applied or (b) the U.S. MFN applied duty rate in effect on the date of entry into force of DR-CAFTA, currently 13.5 percent for most socks imported from Honduras. Although DR-CAFTA allows textile safeguard measures to be imposed for up to three years, CITA states that in this case any such measure would be applied until Dec. 31, 2008, to coincide with the expiring limits on cotton sock imports from China. If the cotton sock safeguard is imposed, the U.S. would have to provide mutually agreed and substantially equivalent compensation in textile and apparel products to Honduras. If the two countries are unable to agree on compensation within 30 days of the application of the safeguard, Honduras may take tariff action of a substantially equivalent trade effect. (click here for Federal Register Notice)

The contents printed in this document are informational in nature. They are gathered from various industry sources and do not necessarily reflect the views and/or actions of THA.
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