The European Branded Clothing Alliance (EBCA) has asked negotiators of the planned European Union-US Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership to strike an ambitious agreement. EBCA wants a deal to fully remove tariffs and that either harmonises, or at least leads to, the mutual recognition of standards on clothing and textiles. It wants the EU and the US to work on removing unnecessary testing and move to an international standard for test methods. 

Textile and clothing products are still some of the most tariff-protected goods in both Europe and the US. That is why EBCA and its US counterparts, the American Apparel and Footwear Association and the US Fashion Industry Association, would want the full, immediate and reciprocal dismantling of tariffs. 

EBCA wants to harmonise textile labeling regulations between the EU and the US, reduce the number of compulsory labeling requirements and keep product labels as simple as possible. It wants flexible rules of origin to encourage the trade and investment of companies using global supply chains. 

EBCA is a coalition of European retail clothing brands operating significant global supply chains. It was founded in 2007. Members are committed to upholding rigorous and internationally recognised standards of corporate responsibility across the full range of their operations. 

www.ebca-europe.org/