Historical Newspapers of South Carolina

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Safeguard Your Paycheck (Reprinted and edited from remarks by William Klopman, President of ATMI) Why has there been such tremendous growth in textile/apparel imports? To understand our import problem, it is critical to comprehend the uniaueness of the textile and apparel industries worldwide. All societies are engaged in manufacturing textiles and apparel. As countries become more developed and search for ways in which to participate in world trade, textiles and apparel are one of the first areas they turn to for exports. Developing nations and Iron Curtain countries seek hard currency from textile and apparel exports, often disregarding whether they realize a profit or not. Practically any developing country can put large quantities of cheap textiles and apparel into international trade channels quickly. Free trade advocates believe we should open our markets completely to the developing countries; they believe this encourages two-way trade and lowers our rate of inflation. Free traders support this position with the theory of comparative advantage. The theory suggests that global wealth is maximized when each nation produces only what it can make less expensively than others. The theory of comparative advantage is simnlp anrl rnmnollino ir> i~..* * - r. ? WW. . 111 no lUgtL, UUl II IS based on a faulty premise. The world economy is not a free market. Governments actively encourage and/or discourage trade evChairman of the Boord Vance Named Chairman of the Board Robert M. Vance has been appointed by ATM I President .William A. Klopman to a special study committee to recommend ways the textile industry The Import Concerned about job losses and inferior quality, a majority of American shoppers interviewed in a recent study said they would rather buy U.S.-made clothing than clothing made overseas. The study, conducted by Dr. Kitty Dickerson of the University of Missouri at Columbia, revealed that 73 percent of those interviewed agreed that clothing imports reduce the number of jobs available to people in Iho I I C More than 47 percent said imports were inferior to U.S.-made goods, compared to less than six percent who said foreign-made goods were better. Of the balance, half rated U.S.- and foreign made goods equal, and half were either undecided or had no opinion. Dr. Dickerson said that when she began the study she had not anticipate ! such strung consumer opinions aDout imports. "I was surprised at the number who were aware and concerned with country of origin, even to the point of saying we should have stronger laws." Fifty-nine percent of the people interviewed said it was important to buy clothing made in the U.S. And 55 percent favored stronger federal laws to limit clothing im ports. "As I followed the controversy over apparel imports," said Dr. Dickerson, "I be > Buy Ai Imports are a leading cause of textile unemployment in this country. You worked hard for your pay? why rob yourself by spending it on foreign-made items? ery day and in every imaginable way in response to domestic economic pressures or in pursuit of national objectives. There is no such thing as free trade. In the case of textiles and apparel, we are virtually excluded from shipping our goods to many places in the world. In many Far Eastern countries, we must first obtain an import license from the local textile industry; in Brazil, duty rates on most items exceed 200 percent. Many countries also manipulate the exchange rate of their currency to favor their exports to the U.S. Korea is reputed to be a master of this practice. By permitting easy access to our own attractive market, without obtainino similar ease of access to other countries' markets, we are offering aid instead of trade. Hong Kong, Taiwan and Korea account for more than 60 percent of the garment imports into this country; yet last year we had a $5 billion textile/apparel trade deficit with the Big Three, as they are called. Nearly $2 billion of this deficit was with Hong Kong alone. The to Study Group can improve its export performance and to make inroads into markets that are now supplying the U.S. market with huge amounts of apparel. Problem came aware that many groups were arguing for what each believed wasbest for consumers. Yet, nowhere could I find that consum cia nau ucen given dii opportunity to express their views. Since every citizen is a consumer and has a stake in trade policy, I felt that it was important that consumers' views be heard." The study involved telephone interviews with 1,350 consumers in 32 states. Included were persons from metropolitan, small town and rural areas selected at random from telephone directories. Trained interviewers asked to speak to a responsible adult in each household and intentionally avoided asking for either a male or female. Each interview lasted from 10 to 15 mi nutes. during which 39 questions were asked dealing mostly with the consumer's views of imported versus U.S.-made clothin. The study was financed by the U.S. De partment of Agriculture and Virginia Polytechnic Institute. Dickerson's study is the first aimed specifically at consumer attitudes toward imported clothing, but recent surveys on imports in general support her findings. A 1980 CBS New York Times poll showed that 71 percent would buy U.S. rather than foreign goods to protect jobs. A Lou Harris & Associates poll conducted that same year found that more than 60 percent favored restrictions on imports. merican overall merchandise trade deficit with these three countries was $7 billion last year. Hopefully, this can be prevented. The federal government has recently negotiated a new Multifiber Arrangement and new bilateral trade agreements with Hong Kong, Taiwan and others. These agreements hold promise of curbing future import growth. Hnwpvor tho HorL *.4; 11 -? . ? ... , ?.V UBI rv viui-U ma I 31111 remains IS China. China has grown from an exporter to the United States in 1972 of 12 million square yard equivalents to 562 million square yard equivalents in calendar 1981. For the first four months of 1982, China was the third largest exporter of textiles and apparel to the United States, following closely behind Hong Kong and Taiwan and just ahead of Korea. China's exports to the United States grew in calendar 1981 almost 73 percent over calendar 1980. If this same growth is allowed for 1982, China will be the number one exporter of textiles and apparel to the United States. Since the late 1960s, textiipyannarpi im. ports into the U.S. have grown at over eight percent annually, compared to our domestic market growth of only 1 V2 percent a year. If this ratio continues to exist, imports will capture 40 percent of the market by the end of the decade. Econometric studies show that, taking into account the ripple effects throughout the economy, this forecasted level of imports will result in 1.2 million additional jobs being lost between now and aaiure TO Ame What's fruitful, abm unma tchS^^KfM thSKReth c uur c hard wo^^H- eag to cJHw exj actoevemjMBe ne Each of owi skills a^^Hf/f/es welmmmj^UL Torte chance to and women of Cli carefully and pi LABOR DAY, SIPTEMBI AS A PAID HOUDi CLINTON MIL Page 13 state EMPLOVMEW^ ^OFnce^ ~ IB I PS 1990. Additionally, our country's GNP will be lower, taxes will be higher and our trade deficit will worsen as a consequence of the continuing surge of imports. The studies clearly highlight the disproportionate price to the U.S. economy of supposedly "low r^ct" I r*"? rv?r4 r C .4 U. ...Ill ? 1 - * i iic ouum wm uDviousiy suiter because it is the center of almost threefourths of the textile industry. rican labor... n^ben nrntii irtivo anW vv ur ru lard of living 1 the world, r force, ion and euV *a*e r's^s> p/IUIs led to v B WB76^ P0SS'^ei wav^ith our special >, ^^Husfes to the U^Hs of HI take this working men nton Mills on a job roudly well done! ER 6, WILL ME OBSERVED LY FOR ALL ELIGIBLE LS EMPLOYEES.