Introduction
Three overlapping conferences and an exhibition meant that
only a selection of the available presentations could be covered. Themes included Natural Fibres and
Sustainable Materials, Filtration Opportunities for Nonwovens, Nonwoven
Technology Update, Medical and Biotechnology and Technical Textiles
R&D. The exhibition was small
compared with the Frankfurt version and contained little of interest for
disposable hygiene products.
Keynote: Textile
Trade Trends and Technical Textiles
Kim Glas,
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Textiles and Apparel, USDOC,
Washington, D.C., USA and an Obama appointee, listed the top 5 sources of US textiles
and apparel in 2009 as China ($32bn) Vietnam ($5.3bn) India ($4.6bn), Mexico
($4.1bn) and Indonesia ($4bn). Total
imports amounted to $81bn while total exports were only $13.6bn, mainly to
Canada ($3.5bn) and Mexico ($3.2bn). Free
Trade Agreements were the key to reducing this textile trade-gap: 17 of were
already in place and a further 3 were pending, but none so far were with any of
the top 10 countries supplying the USA.
The Trans-Pacific Partnership FT Agreement was facilitating exports to
the Pacific Rim which now accounts for 40% of global trade, and the first round
of talks involving the USA were held in March this year in Australia. The USA,
Australia, Peru and Vietnam will be added to the original members, Brunei,
Chile, Singapore and New Zealand shortly.
In total the Free Trade Agreement countries take 70% of US textile exports
but together they only account for 9% of global GDP.
Support for the textile industry included the
requirement that the Department of Homeland Security bought...