Textile Finishing Mill Reportedly Laying off Workers

According to press reports, Duro Textiles has laid off over 100 workers at its Fall River, Massachusetts facility. More information is available at http://www.heraldnews.com/news/20160825/duro-textiles-begins-large-layoff-at-fall-river-facility. Agathon Associates attempted, unsuccessfully, to contact Duro for verification of the newspaper reports/

Monday, September 5th, Is Labor Day in the United States

Monday, September 5th, is Labor Day in the United States. National, state, and local government offices will be closed, as will most non-retail business. In much of America Labor Day marks end of summer.

As I sit in a comfortable chair in my air-conditioned office today the outdoor temperature is expected approach 80 degrees. And I think of the men I saw, as I took an air-conditioned Uber to the swimming pool during those 90-degree plus days in July, hand-tamping hot asphalt paving under the scorching sun. As my fingers move across the keyboard the overhead light reflects off my freshly manicured nails and the cuff links in my soft, clean, white shirt. As I think of my relative comfort I remember that I enjoy ease because other men and women are out in the heat and sun doing dirty backbreaking work. And that is why we set aside the first Monday in September as Labor Day.

Of course, Labor Day honors all workers, not only those who do manual labor. But it is good to remind ourselves from time to time of the necessity of manual labor. Ordinary Americans today enjoy necessities of life, security, and even luxuries the envy of princes in an earlier age. The bright, hardworking, and daring men and women of Wall Street and other financial markets created new and innovative ways to maximize wealth, and gave us the most prosperous society the world has known, and one in which wealth, has been distributed more widely than ever before. In sum, our financial markets -- at least when left alone -- do a bully job of managing wealth. But they do not create wealth. Ultimately you have to make it (manufacturing), mine it (digging or drilling), or grow it (agriculture). Someone has to build houses for the economic indicators to register an increase in housing starts. Some has to drill if we are to have the oil to fuel our economy. Someone has to hoe and weed to keep Whole Foods (whole-paycheck we call it my house) stocked with the organic fruit and vegetables we love to consume.

American policy for a quarter of a century has been to maximize imports and pay for them with credit. We import oil from the Near and Middle-East rather than drill our own abundant supplies. We have some of the largest tracks of fertile land, yet we import food from sources so dubious that many of us do not consume raw vegetables unless we can ascertain their origin. And as for manufacturing -- just go into Walmart and try to find something -- anything -- made in the U.S.A.

Politicians in Washington will talk much this Labor Day weekend about the dignity of the workingmen and women of America, but the policies they enact tell a different tale. President Obama is pushing congress to approve a new free trade agreement with Communist Vietnam and Brunei, an Islamic state where most criminal activity is defined and punished according to draconian Islamic sharia law.

If this deal goes through more U.S. jobs will be lost, replaced by manufacturing, mining, and agricultural work in nations that do not honor labor, but rather subject their workers to unsafe and unhealthy conditions and low pay.

You do not respect the dignity of the workingman or woman by destroying his or her job.

Two Advanced Textile and Clothing Events in Boston

July 29, 2016, I attended the Advanced Functional Fabrics of America Inaugural Membership Day at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

AFFOA’s mission is to enable a manufacturing-based revolution by transforming traditional fibers, yarns, and fabrics into highly sophisticated, integrated and networked devices and systems.

Guiding principles:

• Lasting Institute – AFFOA is conceived and constructed with the goal of establishing a financially viable organization that will have a significant and enduring impact on the U.S. fibers and textiles manufacturing sector.
• Dedicated Mission – AFFOA NPO’s sole purpose is to administer and carry out the mission of AFFOA.
• Sustainability – AFFOA’s governance structure works now and will work five years from now.
• Independence –AFFOA should be perceived and act as an independent organization and be held accountable to all of its stakeholders.
• Transparency – Responsibilities and roles of the various components of the governance structure are clear.
• Representation and Integration – Governance structure engenders communication and participation of AFFOA stakeholders across the AFFOA ecosystem through representative bodies.
• Simple and efficient decision making – Governance structure enables efficient and rapid decision making and operations (not business as usual).
• Product – Product context, product roadmaps and the ability to engage industry in proprietary ways are critical to AFFOA’s engagement of industry now and in the future.
• Government Involvement – Governance structure enables Federal Government participation now and in the future.

Learn more at http://join.affoa.org/.

Thursday, August 25, 2016, I attended the Proof Challenge Kickoff: Designing the Chemical Biological Defense Suit at the Boston Museum of Science, organized by the Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical and Biological Defense. See more information at www.proofchallenge.com.

Contract for Military Cots Awarded

North American Manufacturing, Scranton, Pennsylvania, has been awarded a maximum $34,255,435 modification (P00004) exercising the second one-year option period of a two-year base contract (SPE8ED-13-D-0001) with three one-year option periods for military cots. This is a fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. Location of performance is Pennsylvania, with a Sept. 26, 2017, performance completion date. Using services are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2016 through fiscal 2017 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Cotton Research and Promotion Program Hall of Fame 2016 Inductees Announced

Cotton Incorporated has announced the 2016 class of the Cotton Research and Promotion Hall of Fame. The program, now in its third year, recognizes U.S. cotton industry leaders that have made significant contributions to the Program or to the cotton industry in general. The honorees will be formally inducted into the Cotton Research and Promotion Program Hall of Fame at the joint Cotton Incorporated/Cotton Board annual meeting this December in New Orleans.

The four honorees for the 2016 Cotton Research and Promotion Hall of Fame include: William A. "Bill" Baxter (Arkansas); the late Jack S. Hamilton (Louisiana); Kent Nix (Texas); and J. Nicholas "Nick" Hahn (New York).

The Cotton Research and Promotion Program was established in 1966 to expand the demand for upland cotton and to increase profitability for both cotton growers and importers of cotton products.

"Over the past few decades, the cotton industry has continued to evolve and advance in many ways," says Berrye Worsham, President and CEO of Cotton Incorporated. "The tireless dedication and many contributions of the 2016 Hall of Fame Inductees have shaped the industry as we know it today and will further impact future growth and advancement."

The 2016 honorees of the Cotton Research and Promotion Program Hall of Fame were chosen from nominations made by Certified Producer and Importer Organizations and voted upon by the Chairman's Committee of the Cotton Incorporated Board of Directors.

• William A. "Bill" Baxter has served as a board member of Cotton Council International, a member delegate of the National Cotton Council, and as a director and chairman of the Cotton Board. Baxter has also been the recipient of the "Arkansas Cotton Achievement Award," and was elected into the Arkansas Agricultural Hall of Fame in 1999. Baxter currently serves as President and Operating Officer of Baxter Land Company.
• Jack S. Hamilton (deceased) provided many years of leadership and dedication to the industry, having served as Chairman of Cotton Incorporated and Chairman of the National Cotton Council, a director of Cotton Council International, and the President of the Southern Cotton Ginners Association. Hamilton also served as the first President of the Louisiana Cotton & Grain Association, an organization he helped found in 1968.
• Kent Nix is recognized for his long tenure and strong leadership during his time on The Cotton Board, beginning his service as an alternate and transitioning through the ranks before becoming Chairman. His role in ensuring and including the importer segment of the industry was very instrumental to the Program. Nix has also served on the Plains Cotton Growers Board of Directors and the Plains Cotton Improvement Committee.
• J. Nicholas "Nick" Hahn held several positions at Cotton Incorporated, and has the distinction of leading the company twice; as both the second and fourth President and CEO.  Hahn built on the marketing legacy of Dukes Wooters, the first President of Cotton Incorporated, and elevated the Company's marketing efforts to new levels of sophistication.

About Cotton Incorporated
Cotton Incorporated, funded by U.S. cotton producers and importers of cotton and cotton textile products, conducts worldwide research and promotion activities to increase the demand for and profitability of cotton.

Max Home, LLC (Upholstered Furniture) FTZ Approved, Subject to Limits

On August 23, 2016 the Foreign Trade Zone Board published in the Federal Register Foreign-Trade Zone (FTZ) 158—Vicksburg/Jackson, Mississippi; Authorization of Limited Production Activity; Max Home, LLC (Upholstered Furniture); Iuka and Fulton, Mississippi.

On March 17, 2016, the Greater Mississippi Foreign-Trade Zone, Inc., grantee of FTZ 158, submitted a notification of proposed production activity to the FTZ Board on behalf of Max Home, LLC, within Subzone 158F, in Iuka and Fulton, Mississippi.

The notification was processed in accordance with the regulations of the FTZ Board (15 CFR part 400), including notice in the Federal Register inviting public comment (81 FR 20617-20618, April 8, 2016). The FTZ Board has determined that further review of part of the proposed activity is warranted at this time. The production activity described in the notification, including indefinite extension of production authority, is authorized on a limited basis, subject to the FTZ Act and the Board's regulations, including Section 400.14, and further subject to a restriction requiring that foreign status upholstery leather (HTSUS 4107.11, 4107.92 and 4107.99) be admitted to the subzone in privileged foreign status (19 CFR 146.41). The activity otherwise remains subject to the restrictions and conditions established under Board Order 1744.

When you operate under Foreign Trade Zone procedures, your company is treated (for purposes of customs duties) like it’s located outside the United States. That can mean that U.S. import duties don’t have to be paid on imported components coming to your factory. If your finished product is ultimately shipped to the U.S. market, you may have the option of paying the finished product duty rate rather than the component duty rate. (Many finished products have lower duty rates – or are duty-free – than their components.) And if you re-export the finished product, you don’t ever pay duties on the component materials. There are other potential savings, too, like avoiding duties on imported materials that become scrap, and possible administrative savings and efficiencies.

What are the benefits?

• Duty Exemption. No duties on re-exports compared to duty drawback which is a refund of duty paid when the product is later exported.
• Duty Deferral. Customs duties and federal excise tax deferred on imports.
• Inverted Tariff. In situations where zone manufacturing results in a finished product that has a lower duty rate than the rates on foreign inputs (inverted tariff), the finished products may be entered at the duty rate that applies to its condition as it leaves the zone — subject to public interest considerations.
• Logistical Benefits. Companies using Foreign Trade Zone procedures may have access to streamlined customs procedures (e.g. “weekly entry” or “direct delivery”).
• Other Benefits. Foreign goods and domestic goods held for export are exempt from state/local inventory taxes. Foreign Trade Zone status may also make a site eligible for state/local benefits which are unrelated to the Foreign Trade Zone Act.

Examples of successful Foreign Trade Zone implementation:

Claremont Flock, a textile company in Leominster, Massachusetts, imports textile fiber called “tow” and processes it into another form of textile fiber called “flock.” Claremont was paying 7.5% duty on their imports of tow. We helped Claremont qualify for Foreign Trade Zone procedures. Now they import tow without paying the duty, turn it into flock, and when the flock leaves the factory it is subject to the rate of duty applicable to flock, which is zero. Claremont said in a newspaper article that this will save them $250,000 per year.

Millipore Corporation located in Jaffrey, New Hampshire, manufacturers filters containing the imported material polyvinylidene fluoride. Utilizing Foreign Trade Zone procedures they avoid the 6.5% import duty on polyvinylidene fluoride. On its domestic shipment and exports to NAFTA markets, the company is entitled to elect the duty rate that applies to finished filters, (0 %) and thus save the company significant amounts of money.

Questions? We Can Help

David Trumbull, Agathon Associates, has over twenty years of experience assisting U.S. manufacturing companies to save money through informed use of the U.S. Customs regulations. He has worked with companies to file Foreign Trade Zone applications. David has also testified as an expert witness at the Foreign Trade Zone Board in Washington, DC. He is a Licensed Customs Broker (Lic. No. 30179) and was, from 2007 to 2013, an official advisor on manufacturing trade policy to the administrations of presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama.

Glenn Page, New England Global Advisors, spent over 30 years with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, (CBP). While assigned to the Portsmouth, NH office of CBP he managed oversight for U.S. Customs of Foreign Trade Zone 81, which included Millipore Corporation and Westinghouse Electric.

Glenn and David recently worked together with Claremont Flock in obtaining and utilizing Foreign Trade Zone procedures.

Glenn can be reached at 603-957-8247 or glenn@neglobaladvisors.com

David can be reached at 617-237-6008 or david@agathonassociates.com

Pendleton Woolen Mills Opens New Store In The Heart Of Downtown Seattle

Pendleton Woolen Mills, a globally celebrated American lifestyle brand headquartered in Portland, Oregon, announces the Grand Opening of the newest retail store in Seattle, Washington. The three day opening (Thursday – Saturday, August 25-27, 2016) will include several special events; a birthday party for the National Park Service, which celebrates 100 years on August 25th, a Pendleton Whisky and Rogue craft brew tasting, special Pendleton Maker guest, gifts with purchase, daily prize drawings, and more. See below for a complete list of activities. The new Pendleton store in downtown Seattle offers women’s and men’s apparel, accessories, blankets and home furnishings. ... READ MORE HERE.

Stafford Mill’s Looms to Make Fabric for Navy

The American Woolen Co. has added the U.S. Navy to its customer base, CEO Jacob Harrison Long announced this week... READ MORE HERE in North-Central Connecticut's Journal Inquirer. American Woolen Company has been a client of Agathon Associates since 2013.

Clothing and textiles purchases by the Navy and other divisions of the U.S. Department of Defense are required to be made in the U.S.A. under a law known as the Berry Amendment. Agathon Associates can assist U.S. manufacturers in taking advantage of the Berry Amendment. Contact David Trumbull at david@agathonassociates.com.

Foreign Trade Zone procedures to cut down on manufacturing costs

By David Trumbull and Glenn Page, independent business consultants with expertise in Foreign Trade Zones

What is a Foreign Trade Zone?

In 1934, Congress enacted the Foreign Trade Zones Act “to expedite and encourage foreign commerce.” The Act created domestic “foreign-trade zones”, and was designed to stimulate international trade and create jobs in the United States.

When you operate under Foreign Trade Zone procedures, your company is treated (for purposes of customs duties) like it’s located outside the United States. That can mean that U.S. import duties don’t have to be paid on imported components coming to your factory. If your finished product is ultimately shipped to the U.S. market, you may have the option of paying the finished product duty rate rather than the component duty rate. (Many finished products have lower duty rates – or are duty-free – than their components.) And if you re-export the finished product, you don’t ever pay duties on the component materials. There are other potential savings, too, like avoiding duties on imported materials that become scrap, and possible administrative savings and efficiencies.

What are the benefits?

• Duty Exemption. No duties on re-exports compared to duty drawback which is a refund of duty paid when the product is later exported.
• Duty Deferral. Customs duties and federal excise tax deferred on imports.
• Inverted Tariff. In situations where zone manufacturing results in a finished product that has a lower duty rate than the rates on foreign inputs (inverted tariff), the finished products may be entered at the duty rate that applies to its condition as it leaves the zone — subject to public interest considerations.
• Logistical Benefits. Companies using Foreign Trade Zone procedures may have access to streamlined customs procedures (e.g. “weekly entry” or “direct delivery”).
• Other Benefits. Foreign goods and domestic goods held for export are exempt from state/local inventory taxes. Foreign Trade Zone status may also make a site eligible for state/local benefits which are unrelated to the Foreign Trade Zone Act.

Examples of successful Foreign Trade Zone implementation:

Claremont Flock, a textile company in Leominster, Massachusetts, imports textile fiber called “tow” and processes it into another form of textile fiber called “flock.” Claremont was paying 7.5% duty on their imports of tow. We helped Claremont qualify for Foreign Trade Zone procedures. Now they import tow without paying the duty, turn it into flock, and when the flock leaves the factory it is subject to the rate of duty applicable to flock, which is zero. Claremont said in a newspaper article that this will save them $250,000 per year.

Millipore Corporation located in Jaffrey, New Hampshire, manufacturers filters containing the imported material polyvinylidene fluoride. Utilizing Foreign Trade Zone procedures they avoid the 6.5% import duty on polyvinylidene fluoride. On its domestic shipment and exports to NAFTA markets, the company is entitled to elect the duty rate that applies to finished filters, (0 %) and thus save the company significant amounts of money.

Questions? We Can Help

David Trumbull, Agathon Associates, has over twenty years of experience assisting U.S. manufacturing companies to save money through informed use of the U.S. Customs regulations. He has worked with companies to file Foreign Trade Zone applications. David has also testified as an expert witness at the Foreign Trade Zone Board in Washington, DC. He is a Licensed Customs Broker (Lic. No. 30179) and was, from 2007 to 2013, an official advisor on manufacturing trade policy to the administrations of presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama.

Glenn Page, New England Global Advisors, spent over 30 years with U.S. Customs and Border Protection, (CBP). While assigned to the Portsmouth, NH office of CBP he managed oversight for U.S. Customs of Foreign Trade Zone 81, which included Millipore Corporation and Westinghouse Electric.

Glenn and David recently worked together with Claremont Flock in obtaining and utilizing Foreign Trade Zone procedures.

Glenn can be reached at 603-957-8247 or glenn@neglobaladvisors.com

David can be reached at 617-237-6008 or david@agathonassociates.com

Erik Autor Appointed President of The National Association of Foreign-Trade Zones

Erik Autor, an experienced authority on international trade, customs and transportation issues, has been has been appointed president of The National Association of Foreign-Trade Zones. NAFTZ Chairman Jose Quiñonez, FTZ manager for the City of El Paso, Texas, announced the appointment.

Autor joins NAFTZ after fifteen years as vice president and international trade counsel at the National Retail Federation and three years as an international business consultant. He succeeds Daniel Griswold, who served as NAFTZ president for four years.

Autor began his career as a law clerk at the U.S. Court of International Trade in New York after receiving his undergraduate and graduate degrees from UCLA and the London School of Economics, and joint law degrees from Duke University. He then joined the international trade group at Skadden Arps Slate Meagher & Flom in Washington, DC, and served six years as international trade counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance before joining the National Retail Federation.

Request for Comments and Notice of Public Hearing Concerning Russia's Implementation of Its WTO Commitments

On August 17, 2016, the Office of the United States Trade Representative published in the Federal Register Request for Comments and Notice of Public Hearing Concerning Russia's Implementation of Its WTO Commitments.

USTR invites written comments and/or oral testimony of interested persons on Russia's implementation of the commitments made in connection with its accession to the WTO, including, but not limited to, commitments in the following areas:

(a) import regulation (e.g., tariffs, tariff-rate quotas, quotas, import licenses);

(b) export regulation;

(c) subsidies;

(d) standards and technical regulations;

(e) sanitary and phytosanitary measures;

(f) trade-related investment measures;

(g) taxes and charges levied on imports and exports;

(h) other internal policies affecting trade;

(i) intellectual property rights (including intellectual property rights enforcement);

(j) services;

(k) rule of law issues (e.g., transparency, judicial review, uniform administration of laws and regulations);

(l) trade-related investment measures; and

(m) other WTO commitments.

You must submit written comments no later than Tuesday, September 20, 2016. A hearing will be held on Friday, September 30, 2016,

Request for Comments and Notice of Public Hearing Concerning China's Compliance With WTO Commitments

On August 16, 2016, the Office of the United States Trade Representative published in the Federal Register (81 FR 54646) Request for Comments and Notice of Public Hearing Concerning China's Compliance With WTO Commitments.

USTR invites written comments and/or oral testimony of interested persons on China's compliance with commitments made in connection with its accession to the WTO, including, but not limited to, commitments in the following areas:

a. Trading rights;

b. import regulation (e.g., tariffs, tariff-rate quotas, quotas, import licenses);

c. export regulation;

d. internal policies affecting trade (e.g., subsidies, standards and technical regulations, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, government procurement, trade-related investment measures, taxes and charges levied on imports and exports);

e. intellectual property rights (including intellectual property rights enforcement);

f. services;

g. rule of law issues (e.g., transparency, judicial review, uniform administration of laws and regulations) and status of legal reform; and

h. other WTO commitments.

In addition, given the United States' view that China should be held accountable as a full participant in, and beneficiary of, the international trading system, USTR requests that interested persons specifically identify unresolved compliance issues that warrant review and evaluation by USTR's China Enforcement Task Force.

You must submit written comments no later than Wednesday, September 21, 2016. A hearing will be held on Wednesday, October 5, 2016.

MTB Comments Due Soon

REMINDER: comments on the new Miscellaneous Tariff Bill process are due by Tuesday, August 16, 2016.

Dept. of Defense Clothing Contract Awarded

Puerto Rico Apparel Manufacturing Corp., Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, has been awarded a maximum $15,827,670 modification (P00130) exercising the third one-year option period of a one-year base contract (SPM1C1-13-D-1065) with four one-year option periods for various military coats. This is a firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. Locations of performance are Puerto Rico, and Mississippi, with an Aug. 14, 2017, performance completion date. Using military services are Army and Afghan army. Types of appropriation are fiscal 2016 through fiscal 2017 defense working capital funds; and foreign military sales funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Authorities Seize More Than 3,000 Counterfeit Items in Northern Indiana

On August 4, 2016, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement ("ICE") reported that more than 3,000 counterfeit items were seized by authorities during the execution of four state search warrants at local businesses on August 3rd.

The search warrants were executed by the Indiana State Excise Police, with assistance from the South Bend Police Department’s Violent Crime Impact Unit and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s ("ICE") Homeland Security Investigations ("HSI").

The counterfeit merchandise seized included shoes, hats, purses, various clothing items and other luxury accessories. These items were found to be imitations of name-brand merchandise, such as: Nike Air Jordan, Michael Kors, Timberland, North Face, Polo, NFL, NBA, NHL and MLB.

No arrests were made at the time the search warrants were executed. This investigation is ongoing and will be forwarded to the St. Joseph (Indiana) County Prosecutor’s Office upon completion.

"The sale of counterfeit merchandise is a crime the State Excise Police often encounter during administrative investigations of alcoholic beverage and tobacco businesses,” said Matt Strittmatter, Superintendent of the Indiana Excise Police. “Likewise, excise officers have developed skills to conduct these investigations. This is a crime that puts consumers at risk and costs the manufacturers of legitimate products millions of dollars annually. Moreover, it is important to ensure the proceeds gleaned from the sale of counterfeit products are not used to finance other criminal enterprises."

CPSC to Hold Children's Sleepwear Flammability Seminar

The Consumer Product Safety Commission ("CPSC") staff is holding a 1-day Flammable Fabrics Act ("FFA") Children's Sleepwear Seminar (the Seminar). The Seminar will focus on testing, certification, and other compliance guidance relating to mandatory FFA standards and requirements for children's sleepwear. The Seminar will be held on October 20, 2016, at the CPSC offices in Bethesda Towers, Bethesda, MD. We invite interested parties to participate in or attend the Seminar.

Broughton Hayward “Brot” Bishop, February 17, 1929 - August 7, 2016

Broughton Hayward “Brot” Bishop died August 7, 2016 at his Portland, Oregon home from Parkinson’s disease. He was born February 17, 1927 in Portland, to Clarence M. and Harriet Broughton Bishop.

He grew up in NW Portland with his brother Mort (C. M. Bishop, Jr.) where he spent happy times playing sports, attending the Hillside School and developing many lifelong friendships. The highlights of his summers were the times spent in the Blue Mountains outside Dayton, Washington with his Broughton family cousins and other friends.

After a year at Lincoln High School, Brot attended Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, graduating in 1945. Brot joined the Marine Corps on his 18th birthday. Following his discharge from the Marines, Brot enrolled at Yale University and graduated in 1950 with Tau Beta Phi honors in Industrial Administration.

After attending Philadelphia College of Textiles and Science (where he later received an honorary doctorate), Brot joined the family business, Pendleton Woolen Mills, full time in 1951. Brot was proud to continue the tradition established by his great grandfather Thomas Kay who came to Oregon in 1863 to pioneer the local woolen mill industry.

Brot took enormous pleasure from his work and his co-workers. He especially appreciated the many long term employees who contributed so much to Pendleton’s success. He valued the importance of the greater community. He coached youth football and served on many boards including his local water board, U.S. Bank, Phillips Academy Andover, Pacific International Livestock Exposition, American Textile Manufacturer’s Institute, Portland Junior Symphony, Riverview Cemetery, Friends of the Columbia Gorge, The Museum at Warm Springs and the Mission Mill Museum and was active in the Republican Party.

While business was a major focus of Brot’s life, his family was of the most importance. He married Mary Voss on February 8, 1956, after a lively and persistent courtship that began with a date skiing on Mt. Hood. Their marriage soon produced five children in seven years.

Family life was active and adventure filled, centering on team sports, skiing, hiking and fishing. Brot took great pride in meeting the formidable challenge of getting his large and slightly unruly family out of bed and into line before the Mt. Bachelor ski lifts started. He similarly enjoyed taking his children fishing on the Deschutes, which for the younger ones occasionally entailed floating behind him with a tight grip on his vest.

Brot will be fondly remembered for his generous spirit, kindness and humility as well as his great attention for detail. He had a wonderful wry sense of humor that often emerged during difficult times to bolster those around him. And, finally, he will be remembered for his perseverance which helped him weather the difficult last few years with astonishing good grace

The family would like to thank his caregivers, Cliff, Alethea, Chandrea and Rita and the staff at OHSU Parkinson’s Center for their thoughtful care and patience during the last years of his life. Also, many thanks to Gentiva Hospice for their kind assistance.

Brot is survived by Mary, his wife of 60 years, their children John (Suzanne), Charlie (Meg), Broughton Jr. (Kelley), Harriet Bakken (Jon) and Peter (Susan), and 14 grandchildren.

Services will be held at Trinity Episcopal Cathedral on a date to be determined. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests that you make a contribution to one of the wonderful organizations supporting the Columbia River Gorge, a place that held a special place in his heart.

U.S. Textile Industry Blocks FTZ for Polyester and Polypropylene Yarns

As we reported a few days ago, the domestic textile industry opposed the application from Flemish Master Weavers for Foreign Trade Zone procedures for the manufacture of floor coverings using imported yarns of polyester and polypropylene. On Friday the Foreign Trade Zone Board published the determination in the case, siding with the domestic textile industry.

To learn if your company can save money using FTZ procedures, contact David Trumbull at david@agathonassociates.com for an initial free consultation.

Certain Polyester Yarn Added to DR-CAFTA Short Supply List

The Committee for the Implementation of Textile Agreements (CITA) has published a notice in today’s Federal Register of its determination to approve a request to modify Annex 3.25 of the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) to add certain 2-ply polyester yarn (reference number: 202.2016.06.01.Yarn.ST&RforPolartec), as specified below, in unlimited quantities. The subject yarn will be added to Annex 3.25, effective August 3, 2016. A copy of the Federal Register notice has been posted on OTEXA's home page for review. Should you have any questions, please feel free to contact OTEXA at your convenience: otexa.caftaca@trade.gov or 202-482-3400.

Specifications: Certain 2-Ply Polyester Yarn

151.

Certain 2-Ply Polyester Yarn HTS: 5402.33.60 Fiber Content: 100% Polyester (60-66% Cationic, 34-40% Disperse) Number of Plies: 2 Yarn Size: 122 Metric (73.8 denier/82 decitex) to 103 Metric (87 denier/97 decitex) Filaments: 144 total Yarn Properties: False Twist Textured – Mechanical process by which POY material(s) are heated, drawn, twisted/untwisted, and heat set in order to add bulk and comfort characteristics. 3.12 to 3.45 Break force/Tenacity (CN) (ISO 2062) 30.68 to 33.92% Elongation (ISO 2062) 7.5 to 8.5% Crimp contraction (ASTM D4031) 8.0 to 8.8% Shrinkage (ASTM D2259) 154 to 170 Interlace per meter (manual count in 10 cm section - extrapolated to 1 m) 2.5 to 2.7% Oil pick up (ASTM D2257) NOTE: The yarn size designations describe a range of yarn specifications for yarn before knitting, dyeing and finishing of the fabric. They are intended as specifications to be followed by the mill in sourcing yarn used to produce fabric. Dyeing, finishing, and knitting can alter the characteristic of the yarn as it appears in the finished fabric. This specification therefore includes yarns appearing in the finished fabric as finer or coarser than the designated yarn sizes provided that the variation occurs after processing of the greige yarn and production of the fabric. The specifications for the yarn apply to the yarn itself prior to cutting, sewing and finishing of a finished garment. Such processing may alter the measurements. Added: 08/03/2016 Reference No.: 202.2016.06.01.Yarn.ST&RforPolartec

USITC Reports on Dominican Republic 2-for-1 Program

On July 28, 2016, the U.S. International Trade Commission ("USITC") published Earned Import Allowance Program: Evaluation of the Effectiveness of the Program for Certain Apparel from the Dominican Republic.

Seven years after its implementation, the Earned Import Allowance Program (EIAP) is not providing enough incentives to substantially boost Dominican apparel exports to the U.S. market, as intended, reports the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) in its publication Earned Import Allowance Program: Evaluation of the Effectiveness of the Program for Certain Apparel from the Dominican Republic; Seventh Annual Review.

The EIAP allows apparel manufacturers in the Dominican Republic who use U.S. fabric to produce certain apparel to earn a credit that can be used to ship eligible apparel made with non-U.S.-produced fabric into the United States duty free. The Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement Implementation Act, as amended, requires the USITC, an independent, nonpartisan, factfinding federal agency, to evaluate annually the effectiveness of the EIAP program and make recommendations for improvements.

The USITC's seventh annual review was submitted to the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Ways and Means and the U.S. Senate Committee on Finance on July 29, 2016. Highlights of the report follow.

• Of the 12 registered firms, only 5 firms are currently using the program, the same number reported in the sixth annual review.
• In 2015, U.S. imports of woven cotton bottoms from the Dominican Republic tripled by value to $8.2 million from $2.7 million in 2014 and increased more than fivefold by quantity. U.S. industry sources attributed these increases, however, to incidental larger orders rather than to incentives offered by the EIAP. Moreover, the value and quantity of U.S. imports of woven cotton bottoms under the EIAP in 2015 accounted for less than 25 percent and 41 percent, respectively, of what they were at their peak in 2010.
• U.S. exports to the Dominican Republic of cotton fabrics of a weight suitable for making bottoms rose 13 percent by quantity and 11 percent by value between 2014 and 2015.
• Except for one addition, the recommendations offered during the seventh annual review of the EIAP were virtually the same as those received by the Commission during the previous six annual reviews: 1) lowering the 2-for-1 ratio of U.S. to foreign fabric to a 1-for-1 ratio; 2) expanding the program coverage to enable other types of fabrics and apparel items to be included in the EIAP; and 3) changing the requirement that dyeing and finishing of eligible fabrics occur in the United States. The new recommendation proposed during the seventh annual review was to add countries to the EIAP to foster regional integration and create further opportunities in other CAFTA-DR countries.

BACKGROUND

On October 16, 2008, H.R. 7222, the Andean Trade Preference Extension Act of 2008, Became Public Law No: 110-436. Sec. 2 of the Act created the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement ("CAFTA-DR") Earned Import Program–a 2-for-1 matching program for trousers assembled in the Dominican Republic. Under this program the D.R. may ship, duty-free, one square meter equivalent of trousers of third-country fabric for every two sme of trousers of U.S.-made fabric.

FTC Boosts Fines for Violation of Wool and Textile Acts

On June 30, 2016, the Federal Trade Commission published in the Federal Register Adjustment of Civil Monetary Penalty Amounts.

Effective August 1, 2016, the maximum penalties for violation of the Textile Fiber Product Identification Act or the Wool Product Labeling Act are increasing. The Federal Trade Commission Act provides various remedies for these violations. The Commission may issue an administrative order prohibiting the act or practice that violates the FTC Act. For violators of an administrative order the maximum civil penalties has gone up to $40,000 from $16,000 for each violation. Each instance of mislabeling under the Textile and Wool Acts is considered a separate violation.

The maximum penalty for failure by wool manufacturers to maintain required records increased from $210 to $525 per day.

Read more at Fashion Compliance Blog.