Gutierrez monitors import of textiles and apparel products

COMMERCE SECRETARY ANNOUNCES EXPEDITED MONITORING OF TEXTILE AND APPAREL IMPORTS

U.S. Secretary of Commerce Carlos M. Gutierrez announced today the initiation of a new system to monitor imports of textiles and apparel products. The system will allow the Department and the public timely access to preliminary textile and apparel data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (aggregated on a category basis), allowing decision makers to more quickly analyze the impact of imports on the U.S. market.

“This action demonstrates the commitment of this Administration to put in place the tools necessary to enforce our trade agreements and level the playing field to support our domestic textile and apparel industry,” said Gutierrez. “We will continue to work with our domestic manufacturers and workers to give them the tools they need to compete internationally.”

The Department anticipates that the new system will be in place by the first week in April 2005, at which time preliminary data on textile and apparel imports for the first quarter of the year should be available. The preliminary data will be posted biweekly on a website maintained by the Department’s International Trade Administration Office of Textiles and Apparel at otexa.ita.doc.gov.

The government’s official U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services data is released approximately six weeks after the end of the referenced month.

Deputy Secretary Robert B. Zoellick, fourteen European capitals

Deputy Secretary Zoellick Travel to Europe

Deputy Secretary Robert B. Zoellick will visit fourteen European capitals March 28-April 5, 2005. During this time he will make stops in Belgium, Bulgaria, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Latvia, the Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, and Spain. Near the end of the trip, Zoellick will participate in a session with the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee and the North Atlantic Council at NATO.

This will be Deputy Secretary Zoellick’s first overseas trip in his new post. Secretary Rice pledged that either she or Deputy Secretary Zoellick will visit all NATO capitals early in the President’s second term.

Deputy Secretary Zoellick will reiterate America’s support for Europe as a strong, effective partner, and discuss how the United States can best work with our alliance partners to face common challenges over the next four years. He also wanted to visit each capital, so as to better understand the country’s particular interests and ideas.

In meetings with the Foreign Affairs Committee of the European Parliament and the North Atlantic Council at NATO, Zoellick looks forward to in-depth exchanges with elected representatives and NATO Ambassadors from throughout Europe.

2005/344 Released on March 24, 2005 Press Statement Adam Ereli, Deputy Spokesman Washington, DC March 24, 2005