United States

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of International Labor Affairs has released the latest edition of its “Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor” report. With this release also comes the launch of a new mobile app developed by the Labor Department called “Sweat & Toil” which will allow significantly easier mining of report data. Labor Department officials say that nearly 60% of the 140 countries covered by the report made a “moderate to significant” advancement in regards to addressing labor abuses. (U.S. Labor Department)
 
The U.S. Department of Commerce has increased the limits on apparel imports under the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA). Among these changes include an increase in the amount of apparel made with components from the U.S. and AGOA member countries that can be imported free of tariffs. The new limits took effect on October 1. (Fibre2Fashion)
 
U.S. textile and apparel imports under the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (CEBRA), the Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity through Partnership Encouragement Act (HOPE), and the Haitian Economic Lift Program (HELP), according to a new report by the U.S. International Trade Commission. The value of imports under the CEBRA program increased 12.7% year-on-year in 2014, with Haiti leading the way. Experts credit these and other trade promotion programs for spurring increased investment in the garment and textile industries of the Caribbean. (Fibre2Fashion)
 
The National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) urged U.S. President Barack Obama to use his recent visit with Chinese President Xi Jinping to press for economic and trade policy reforms in China to ensure a level playing field for U.S. companies. Among these issues include Chinese currency manipulation, illegal subsidies, and intellectual property infringement. Xi Jinping made his first state visit to the United States last month. (Apparel Magazine)
 
The World Bank has released a new report looking at how the Better Work program has improved productivity for workers and empowered the global female workforce. The report draws a direct correlation between improved working conditions and increased productivity and stresses the importance of a strong relationship between workers and management. It also says that many workers place high importance on a work-life balance in addition to fair pay and reasonable hours. (World Bank Group)/(Fibre2Fashion)
 
The U.S. government has granted duty-free status to five additional upland cotton fiber products under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program. With this action, the U.S. has fulfilled its pledge to the World Trade Organization (WTO) to make all imports of such products from least-developed countries (LDCs) duty-free and quota-free. This announcement is also part of a larger effort by U.S. President Barack Obama to review products included in the GSP program. (Fibre2Fashion)
 
Textile Exchange has announced the results of a new benchmarking report looking at the progress of 57 leading textile companies in their effort to become more sustainable. The group says that 81% of the companies are addressing the use of their raw materials at the “strategy level” while the same proportion say they are communicating the sustainability attributes of their products to their customers. They also assert that many companies don’t give as much weight to raw material and animal welfare policies as they do to human rights and ethical trade. (Textile Exchange)