Essay

Reading material (available on Canvas) 

• 8-3 “Textile industry versus apparel industry: the case of renegotiation of the North  

American Free Trade Agreement”  

• Online blog post “COVID-19 and U.S. Apparel Imports: Key Trends (Updated: October  

2020)” https://shenglufashion.com/2020/10/07/covid-19-and-u-s-apparel-imports-key-trends

updated-october-2020/ 

Instructions 

• This assignment is in the format of short answers.  

• Other than the required readings, there is NO need to find any additional reference material  

for this assignment.  

• In your answer, please DO NOT use direct quotes from the articles (i.e., copy sentences  

from the readings and paste them to your answers). Instead, use your own words to answer  

the questions.  

• There is no length requirement for your answer. The grading will be based on the quality  

of your answers and the strength of your arguments. You must justify your viewpoints  

by using statistics, theories, or examples mentioned in the readings or learned from the  

lecture videos. Please explain your answers as sufficiently and clearly as possible.  

• Please work on this assignment independently.  

Question 1: How important is NAFTA to the U.S. textile and apparel industry? Overall, why or  

why not do you think the U.S. textile and apparel industry is a beneficiary of NAFTA over the  

past two decades? (5 points) 

Question 2: Why does the U.S. textile industry want to keep the so-called “yarn-forward” rules  

of origin in NAFTA? Why do U.S. fashion brands and apparel retailers dislike the “yarn

forward” rules of origin? (5 points) 

Question 3: What are the main arguments that support eliminating the tariff preference level  

(TPL) in NAFTA? What are the main arguments that oppose eliminating the TPL in NAFTA? If  

you were U.S. trade negotiators, what would you do with TPL in the NAFTA renegotiation? (5 

points) 

Question 4: Why or why not do you think COVID-19 is an opportunity or a threat to the  

Western Hemisphere textile and apparel supply chain? (5 points)