Thread: House vote may affect textile industry

http://technicianonline.com/story.php?id=011917


technicianonline.com / 07.27.2005 / news /

House vote may affect textile industry
Posted: 07.27.2005
Erin Welch

The House of Representatives is expected to decide on an agreement this week with the potential of impacting the entire textile and apparel industry.

Supporters and critics disagree on the extent of this impact, dividing the textile industry both in the nation and at the University.

The Dominican Republic-Central American Free Trade Agreement proposes a duty-free zone which would cover the United States, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Honduras, Costa Rica and the Dominican Republic.

Modeled off of the North American Free Trade Agreement, which created free trade between the United States, Canada and Mexico in 1994 and took seven years to negotiate, the DR-CAFTA only took the span of one calendar year to be negotiated between participating countries.

"CAFTA is not a new phenomena," Nancy Cassill, a professor in the College of Textiles, said.

She said the agreement is an extension of prior trade regulations in the Caribbean Basis Trade Partnership Act of 2000.

"What makes CAFTA different is that it is a two-way trade," Cassill said.

The implications of DR-CAFTA, however, are ones which could benefit or hurt the textile industry, potentially affecting the future jobs and careers of numerous textile majors.

However, Mark Clapp, a junior in textile engineering, said graduates have not had any trouble finding jobs in the industry.

"We're moving away from the traditional textiles, which is what is going overseas. We're being trained more for special industries," he said.

Yet some of the textile industry still stands to be altered by the DR-CAFTA decision this week.

After narrowly passing through the Senate on June 30 with a 54-45 vote, the DR-CAFTA will now head to the House of Representatives for a vote expected to occur this week.

Despite being signed in Washington, D.C. on May 28, the DR-CAFTA cannot go into affect until it is passed in both the Senate and the House, as well as the National Assemblies of the other participating countries.

"Basically the issue relates to jobs and revenue," Cassill said.

However, both sides of the issue disagree on what benefits and consequences the DR-CAFTA may bring.

Supporters of the DR-CAFTA claim that the agreement will aid in bringing more jobs and business to the textile industry, which has a strong presence in North Carolina.

Because many U.S. companies face high tariffs on exports to these Central American countries, which do not face similar tariffs when selling to the U.S. market, supporters say the DR-CAFTA will level the field for exporting and importing goods.

Cassill said from the proponent's point of view, the United States is doing a lot of textile business in Central American countries and in the Dominican Republic; she said supporters don't want to lose that business and said they feel the DR-CAFTA will help the United States retain their business with these countries.

However, Cassill pointed out that as far as the DR-CAFTA is concerned, the pros and cons are considerably balanced.

Supporters and critics see the same issues within DR-CAFTA through different angles.

According to Cassill, one plus is that the DR-CAFTA will open up more markets for U.S. products; yet critics say these markets are at such a lower economic level than the U.S. that thezy wouldn't be able to afford the products.

Many textile companies in Central America purchase their materials from the United States. Supporters say because of this, the DR-CAFTA will increase exports of these materials into Central American countries, creating more jobs and a larger market for textile materials in the United States.

According to Cassill, 60 to 90 percent of garments made in Central American countries are manufactured from companies that purchase their products from the United States.

Only 1 to 3 percent of garments made in other countries, such as China, are made from materials bought from the United States.

On the pro side, supporters see the DR-CAFTA as a means to keep jobs in this hemisphere for U.S. companies.

On the con side, Cassill said talk is mostly about the issue of job losses.

"When you open up trade there is always the risk of job losses," she said.

As far as future jobs for textile students at NCSU, Cassill said the outcome of the House's vote on the DR-CAFTA should not have a large effect.

"We have lost a lot of the production jobs, and many, but not all, are more of the semi-skilled level with lower education requirements," Cassill said. "The jobs that have been maintained and kept in the United States are the more white-collar jobs. Those are the jobs we prepare our students for."

Director of advising and admissions for the College of Textiles Philip Dail agreed that the decision on DR-CAFTA will not directly affect textile students in their future careers.

"Most of our students are not going into jobs that would be directly related to what takes place in Latin America. Those jobs there are predominantly the mill jobs, the cut and sew jobs," Dail said. "If it did anything, I would see it improving them, not hurting them."

Despite job losses in certain areas of the industry, the College of Textiles is expecting the highest enrollment numbers ever with 191 incoming freshmen.

For the past academic year, the college has seen a 93 percent job placement figure for graduated textile majors accepting employment positions and expects that figure to be up to 95 percent by August.

Dail said the high job placement figures for the College of Textiles occurred because textile students are in so much of a technical field and can apply their management skills.

For Clapp, who is looking to a career in medical textiles, the textile industry is one of specialized markets.

"I'm looking more to work with textiles inside the body, things you really wouldn't think of in normal textile applications," Clapp said.

He said the College of Textiles is preparing students for more specialized markets, such as the medical textiles in which he is interested.

If the DR-CAFTA passes, Cassill said it would most likely affect textile companies in different ways.

"There will probably be some companies that will not be able to stay in business and some that will be able to expand their business," Cassill said. "There will probably be some winners and some losers."

In the meantime however, textile students can prepare to study the affects of the DR-CAFTA in the fall semester.

The College of Textiles brought proponents and opponents of the agreement to campus in February in a forum designed to help educate students about both sides of the DR-CAFTA. Whether the agreement goes into effect or not, Cassill said textile students are focusing on more global concepts in their field.

"In our curriculum, we're doing more global aspects because our industry is more global," Cassill said.

She also said this fall, her classes will spend a lot of time talking about trade issues and specifically addressing the effects of the DR-CAFTA on the textile industry.

"The entire college right now is developing a global program...and the response to that emphasis is more and more in the actual degrees," said Dail, referring to the additions of three new textile majors which focus on more global and management issues.

"We have a really broad base of education for these students," Dail said.

The emphasis of these three new textile majors is aimed at better preparing textile students for the industry positions they will enter upon graduation. Dail said much of the global emphasis in textiles is placed within the textile curricula.

"We are putting a lot more emphasis in the actual classrooms, in the actual courses. You don't have to leave North Carolina to be very involved in global activities," Dail said. "It is interesting that so many people, when you say the word global, think of a plane ticket and a suitcase, but that isn't the case."

However, Mark Clapp, a junior in textile engineering, said graduates have not had any trouble finding jobs in the industry.

"We're moving away from the traditional textiles, which is what is going overseas. We're being trained more for special industries," he said.

Right...and after CAFTA passes, those "special industries" will be in Central America, and your seat at the Textile College will be filled with a Guatemalan.