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Rep. Myrick has been fighting for the
textile industry since coming to Congress in 1995. The
9th District of North Carolina is one of the most textile
intensive districts in the U.S. Recently, Rep. Myrick
has been working on a number of enforcement issues to make
sure China, and other countries, play by the rules of
international trade. Below are a number of things Rep.
Myrick has done, or is working on, to help support the textile
industry.
Transshipment and Dumping
Enforcement Issues
Transshipment occurs when countries seek to bypass
US import duties by shipping goods through another
country and then into the U.S. This allows countries to
pay less tariffs, and it allows them to bypass quotas on
certain goods. Dumping occurs when another country ships
products to the U.S. in huge quantities, and at an extremely
low price. This allows them to obtain a large market
share in the textile industry in order to force American
companies out of business.
Chinese Currency Manipulation
For some time now, China has manipulated its currency to
obtain a better trade advantage around the world. It is
estimated that China’s currency is undervalued between 15 to 40 percent, or an average of 27.5 percent. This
manipulation makes China’s exports to America cheaper and
America’s imports to China more expensive. The result of
China’s currency manipulation has been an increased trade
deficit, and more importantly millions of jobs.
Rep. Myrick has been the outspoken voice
of enforcement on currency manipulation. Myrick has
introduced legislation that
would levy tariffs of 27.5 percent on goods from China
if the Chinese government does not allow its currency to float
on the open market. Myrick issued the following
statement on the bill: “We have told China to stop
manipulating their currency, and all they do is thumb their
nose at us. I will not sit by and watch America lose jobs
while the Chinese government breaks trade agreements they
signed. This bill will teach China a hard lesson: if you want
to trade with us you will play by the rules."
Expanding American Textile Exports
The textile industry and Rep. Myrick both agree that textiles
need more worldwide buyers of American textile goods.
American textiles produce high quality goods and all they need
is a chance to sell it.
Rep. Myrick has worked to bring buyers
from around the world to textile producers here in the U.S.
Rep. Myrick put a delegation from Sri Lanka in touch
with textile producers in Gaston County, and Greensboro, NC.
Voting to Prevent China from Taking
Away Valuable Export Markets
Rep. Myrick cast her vote for the Central American
Free Trade Agreement to ensure that the US textile industry
and their partners in Central America were united against
China.
Central America is the the second largest US textile export
market in the world. Had Congress not passed this
trade agreement China would have come into Central America and
stolen valuable business from textile mills in America, thus
forcing more jobs in the US to be eliminated. Included
in this trade bill is strict illegal transshipment laws and
new textile safeguards. Rep. Myrick also voted for this
bill because Central American countries had free access to our
markets with no tariffs. This bill ensured we had free
access to their markets as well so that textiles and other
American businesses no longer have to pay tariff's as high as 18%.
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