{
  "id": "RL30291",
  "type": "CRS Report",
  "typeId": "REPORTS",
  "number": "RL30291",
  "active": false,
  "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
  "versions": [
    {
      "source": "EveryCRSReport.com",
      "id": 105436,
      "date": "1999-08-24",
      "retrieved": "2016-05-24T20:42:48.317941",
      "title": "Economic and Policy Developments in the Apparel and Textiles Sector",
      "summary": "The apparel and textiles industries together employed just under 1.4 million workers in 1998,\naccounting for almost 7% of all manufacturing employment in the United States. Over the past dozen\nyears, however, there has been a marked downward trend in employment for these industries. This\ntrend has accelerated in recent years, with over 275,000 jobs lost since 1993. This job loss is the\nmost important issue facing these industries.\n Much of this job loss has been linked to increasing domestic consumption of imports. Concerns\nabout these industries have influenced recent trade negotiations involving the United States, most\nnotably the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and China's\naccession into GATT's successor, the World Trade Organization (WTO). The WTO, whose\nmembership is made up of 132 nations, including the United States, is an organization committed\nto the dismantling of trade barriers between nations. \n Related to the issue of import-induced job loss is the debate over renewal of programs aimed\nat helping workers displaced by trade find new jobs the Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA)\nprogram. Less crucial than these issues, but still relevant, is the effect on these industries of federally\nsponsored programs aimed at spurring innovation the manufacturing sector as a whole.\n Probably the most important unresolved issue that will influence the ability of these industries\nto maintain employment in the coming decades will be the impact of China's prospective accession\ninto the WTO. China is already the leading exporter of apparel into the United States, so the future\ngrowth of U.S./Chinese apparel trade will in large part determine employment numbers in the\nindustry. Also important will be the continued efforts by the industries to remain internationally\ncompetitive through innovation. Here, federal policies like the Research and Experimentation\n (R&E) Tax Credit and cooperative government/industry collaborations will influence the\ndegree of\nsuccess the industries attain.",
      "type": "CRS Report",
      "typeId": "REPORTS",
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      "topics": []
    }
  ],
  "topics": [
    "Foreign Affairs"
  ]
}