Newsletter at-a-glance
Read on for AAFA's latest advocacy efforts and the star power that graced our 41st American Image Awards red carpet last night!
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April 13: ... Mr. Mnuchin said he and U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer would have two telephone calls this coming week with their Chinese counterparts to work on a narrowing set of issues. He added that the officials are “discussing whether more in-person meetings are necessary.” (Source: Wall Street Journal)
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April 13: A U.S. plan to end preferential duty-free imports of up to $5.6 billion from India could raise costs for American consumers, two U.S. senators have told their country’s trade office ... If President Donald Trump presses ahead with his plan to end the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) for India, it could lose the status in early May ... raising the prospect of retaliatory tariffs. (Source: Reuters)
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April 12: The European Union is considering hitting U.S. goods ranging from handbags to helicopters with retaliatory tariffs to the tune of 10.2 billion euros ($11.5 billion) in a dispute over subsidies to Boeing Co., according to a draft list seen by Bloomberg News. (Source: Bloomberg)
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April 12: Federal officials have confirmed that a decision made in late March to redirect hundreds of employees responsible for processing trucks at the U.S.-Mexico border to deal with migrants is causing cargo delays to skyrocket. (Source: Freightwaves.com)
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April 11: The U.S. manufacturing sector saw some small gains in March, according to a recent report by the Institute for Supply Management, as production, new orders and hiring all improved. However, the industry still faces headwinds, most notably that overseas demand continues to decline, and domestic growth has slowed following last year’s economic stimulus. (Source: Footwear News)
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April 11: New developments in AI and automation may be about to wipe out that workforce, leaving a new set of moral dilemmas in its place. ... “Automation provides new opportunities for US manufacturing in certain circumstances,” explains Nate Herman, senior vice president of supply chain at the American Apparel & Footwear Association. “That said, this would most likely result in a change in the entire sourcing structure, with local-for-local being a worldwide focus. This would mean US-for-US, but it would also mean China-for-China and Brazil-for- Brazil.” (Source: Medium.com)
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April 10: ... An estimated 75,000 stores that sell clothing, electronics and furniture will close by 2026, when online shopping is expected to make up 25 percent of retail sales, according to UBS. Roughly 16 percent of overall sales are made online. Analysts said the closures would affect a broad variety of retailers, affecting an estimated 21,000 apparel stores, 10,000 consumer electronics stores and 8,000 home furnishing stores. (Source: Washington Post)
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April 13: ... On Monday, the Supreme Court will hear Brunetti’s challenge to a part of federal law that says officials should refuse to register trademarks that are “scandalous” or “immoral.” (Source: Associated Press)
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April 9: ... Maybe unsurprisingly, given China’s position as one of the more problematic global players when it comes to the protection of non-native intellectual property, no small number of the authentication services that are meant to be separating the bona fide luxury goods from the counterfeits are fake, themselves. In many cases, the seemingly authentic sites are copying the names, website layouts, and the imagery of more established authentication services, such as Zhiduoshao. (Source: The Fashion Law)
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Last night at the 41st American Image Awards: Last evening at The Plaza Hotel in NYC, AAFA hosted the 41st AAFA American Image Awards with a sold-out event celebrating the accomplishments of the fashion and retail industry. The gala honored leaders, influencers, and innovators in the apparel and footwear industries and benefitted the Council of Fashion Designers of America (CFDA) Foundation. The red carpet buzzed with stars, fashion executives, and designers in celebration of the night’s honorees, including award-winning actress Brooke Shields as emcee.
Read on in our media release, and look for the night's memorable moments on social media with #AmericanImageAwards.
MTB comments and testimony: On April 15, AAFA testified before the U.S. International Trade Commission (USITC) to explain why the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill (MTB) process is so important to our industry. AAFA also provided written comments on the proposals by the USITC to amend Part 220 of its Rules of Practice and Procedure, which governs the submission and consideration of petitions for duty suspensions and reductions under the American Manufacturing Competitiveness Act of 2016.
AAFA supports Mongolia Third Neighbor Trade Act: On April 12, AAFA expressed its support for the Mongolia Third Neighbor Trade Act. Having been introduced in both the House (H.R. 2219) and the Senate (S. 1188), the bill would provide duty-free access to the U.S. market for products made in Mongolia, using Mongolian cashmere.
Letter to USTR on India's GSP status: AAFA joined 24 other trade organizations in sending a letter to the U.S. Trade Representative on April 12, expressing concerns over the plan to terminate India's Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) status.
World IP Day on April 26: Did you know that across the country, IP supports more than 45 million U.S. jobs? We invite you to take part in celebrating #WorldIPDay next week on April 26, in coordination with the National Intellectual Property Rights Coordination Center and World Intellectual Property Organization. Learn more.
See all of AAFA’s latest letters, comments, and testimony here.
Congress and government agencies solicit comments on a range of issues that may affect your business – find a list of comment opportunities here.
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Member Welcome: Baoshen Science & Applied Technologies Co., Ltd
 Founded in 1988, Baoshen Science & Applied Technologies Co., Ltd is one of China’s leading packaging material suppliers for footwear, apparel, bags, furniture, cosmetics and accessories, etc. BSN provides a one-stop service for RFID labels including hardware and software to enable a smooth transition to RFID implementation. The rest of their core services and products include: colored UPC labels, printed woven, TPU & PU labels, size labels with ‘one code against one object technology’, anti-counterfeit cold transferred & heat transferred labels, self-adhesive stickers, wrapping tissues (with anti-mold function), paper & plastic hangtags, LDPE bags, cloth bags, plastic & paper hangers, bridles, leather crafts, etc.
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April & May
April 24 Webinar: How Targus Gained Global Visibility with PLM
April 25 Briefing: The Commitment & Your Social Compliance Program
April 30 Government Relations Committee Meeting
May 8 Webinar: Product Safety in 2019 and What You Need to Know
May 14-16 Government Contracts Committee Meeting
May 15 Webinar: Build Online Presence For Customers Not Impostors
Visit our events calendar for all AAFA webinars, scheduled events, and member/committee calls.
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April 30-May 1 | Washington, D.C.
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Trade
