Friday, September 5, 1969
THE NEW BERN MIRROR. NEW BERN, N. C.
Page Five
The latest Government sta
tistics show another rise in tex
tile Imports, principally from
Japan, and reveal that this trend
has worsened our trade deficit.
The textile industry has been
the neglected child of our eco
nomy since 1957, the last year
in which this country had a fav
orable balance of textile trade.
^VlAMider whsf makes If faste so 90odJ>^
mmomf or i« cocAotA oomtamv iv
New Bern Coca-Cola Bottling Works, Inc.
NEW BERN, N. C.
Hazel’s
HAIR STYLING & BOUTIQUE
1904 Clarendon Blvd.
Dial 638-5322
Early in the Kennedy Adminis
tration, it became apparent
that something had to be done
to remedy this situation. The
GATT control arrangements
for cotton textiles were dev
eloped then as a partial solu
tion to the unfair pressures our
textile Industry was under from
foreign producers who benefit
from lower wage costs, lesser
taxes, and more favorable gov
ernmental policies. The 1961
arrangement dealt with the cot
ton imports and did not touch
the wool and synthetic fiber
import problems.
The new figures show that our
1968 deficit in textile trade a-
mounted to about $1.1 billion.
Cotton, wool, and synthetic
fiber Imports resulted in $800
million of this trade deflcit.
This deficit was $300 million
larger than that incurred dur
ing the preceding year.
The problem has immense
consequences forourState. The
Textile and apparel industries
in North Carolina constitute
about 40% of our industrial
force, lliese industries have
more than 1700 plants in our
State. They employ more than
333,000 of our citizens with an
annual payroll exceeding ^.5
billion. It has been estimated
that more than 1.5 million for
North Carolinians are depen
dent on the textile and the gar
ment industries for their liveli
hood.
The basic problem is that our
textile producers are faced with
greater costs than ftelr over
seas competitors who are flood
ing our domestic textile market.
This condition affects the job
security of thousands of North
C arollnlans and millions of Am
ericans.
The problem has not been re
solved because a battle has rag
ed for years in this country be
tween Uiose who believe in rea
sonable protection for Ameri
can textiles and those who fav
or free trade. Consequently,
our Government has often
been indecisive in its efforts
to protect the domestic tex
tile Industry, and foreign na
tions have taken advantage of
this situation.
It should be evident to any
fair - minded person that we
do not have the conditions pres
ent in this country which will
permit our textile industry to
thrive under a “free trade"
policy. This is so because
“free trade" cannot exist un
less we are willing to let prices
rise and fall with the demands
of the market. Not only are we
unwilling to do this, but we have
also established controls over
our domestic industry through
minimum wages, taxes, and
other governmental policies
which interfere with a free
market. In addition, the tex
tile Industry is at the mercy of
overseas competitors who
benefit from their national trade
and Investment policies. Thus
the American textileindustryis
faced with seriousproblemsun-
known to its foreign competitor.
To remedy this problem,this
nation must establish reason
able restraints on wool, synthe
tic fibers, and blended textile
goods coming into this coun
try. The Secretary of Com
merce has recently sought to
conclude such an agreement
with Aslan and European na
tions. Thus far, he has met
with little success. Unless such
an agreement is concluded soon,
I think Congress should enact
measures to remedy this situa
tion, and I expect to support
such legislation.
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