Thank you for the opportunity to testify at this important hearing on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade agreement. AMTAC is a trade association founded by domestic manufacturers who are committed to manufacturing here in the United States. Our objective is to seek the establishment of trade policy and other measures designed to stabilize the U.S. industrial base and thus preserve and create American manufacturing jobs.

AMTAC represents a significant component the U.S. textile industry, including the yarn, fabric, dyeing and finishing, and apparel sectors. We also represent companies from the tool and die, chemical, furniture, mold making, metal products, packaging products and corrugated container industries.

This “one-way” free-trade agreement model disproportionately benefits multinational corporations who are anxious to shift U.S. production to countries that have some of the weakest labor, environmental and safety standards in the world, like Vietnam. Many of these agreements also include third-party loopholes that allow component parts made in countries like China.

In conclusion, while the majority of the TPP countries have substantial capability to produce finished goods for export, they have limited ability to consume finished goods manufactured in the United States. This replicates the flawed Bush Administration trade model, which has cost to millions of jobs, crippled key manufacturing sectors such as the U.S. textile industry, and badly damaged the U.S. economy.