From the Sector

The National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO), representing the full spectrum of U.S. textiles from fiber, yarn and fabrics to finished sewn products, applauded the administration’s announcement today of plans to reinstate duty-free treatment for qualified textile and apparel goods from Guatemala and El Salvador under the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR).

National Council of Textile Organizations President and CEO Kim Glas:
“NCTO and our industry leaders have long been pushing for the reinstatement of duty-free treatment for qualified textile and apparel goods for our CAFTA-DR partner countries. We welcome the administration’s announcements about restoring these benefits for Guatemala and El Salvador and continue to press for a resolution for the other trade partners including Honduras, the Dominican Republic and Costa Rica, while acknowledging that the administration is conducting an extensive review under Section 301 of Nicaragua and their human rights violations under a separate track.

“We sincerely thank Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC-09), Rep. David Rouzer (R-NC-07), and many members of the House Textile Caucus for their leadership and efforts in helping reinstate duty-free benefits for CAFTA-DR countries in support of the domestic textile chain.  Today was a first great step and we want to thank President Trump, U.S. Trade Representative Ambassador Jamieson Greer, and the administration for this important decision. 

“The CAFTA-DR region forms a vital co-production chain with the American textile supply chain, facilitating $11.3 billion in two-way trade in 2024 and supporting more than 470,000 U.S. workers in the domestic textile sector alone. However, since reciprocal tariffs were imposed on qualifying CAFTA-DR trade, U.S. textile and apparel imports from our free trade partner countries have declined 8 percent year to date in 2025 through July, while U.S. imports from top Asian suppliers have increased by double digits.

“The restoration of duty-free status for qualified goods from El Salvador and Guatemala is a critical key first step for our collective industries.  Restoring duty-free textile and apparel qualified goods from the CAFTA-DR region is important to bolster the U.S. textile supply chain can help bring some stability to this critical sector. The U.S. -Western Hemisphere supply chains stand as a bulwark to China and other Asian countries. We look forward to working with the Trump administration and lawmakers to find a resolution that will restore duty-free treatment for qualified trade for this vital region.”

With more than 840 exhibitors from 30 countries and thousands of visitors from more than 100 nations ITMA ASIA + CITME 2025 was a truly international show. Visitors came with clear project ideas, leading to many inspiring and fruitful discussions.

Numerous VDMA members reported closed orders and deals – a positive sign for the machinery sector. “Better than expected”: this was a frequent statement from exhibiting companies.
The testimonials from VDMA member companies reflect a successful trade fair:

"ITMA ASIA + CITME 2025 in Singapore has been a real INTERNATIONAL Textile Machinery Exhibition in Asia, attracting visitors from more than 100 countries. The numbers and quality hoped for have been exceeded. In this friendly and well organised city, smiles were also very much seen at the EXPO during the exhibition."
Dr. Janpeter Horn, Chairman, VDMA Textile Machinery Association

“ITMA ASIA + CITME 2025 in Singapore was a great success also for Mahlo. The show brought together the right people, the right ideas, and the right energy. A truly international event that delivered valuable insights and confirmed the industry's commitment to innovation. We could discuss specific challenges and solutions with numerous industry professionals from across Asia.”
Thomas Höpfl, Sales Director, Mahlo 

“ITMA ASIA + CITME 2025 in Singapore was a great success for Trützschler. The event brought together an international mix of visitors and offered high-quality discussions with customers and business partners.”
Alexander Stampfer, CSO, TRÜTZSCHLER Group

“Singapore was the ideal stage for ITMA ASIA + CITME 2025, drawing a highly engaged global audience. The exhibition proved to be an outstanding platform for meaningful dialogue and networking. The strong visitor presence and the depth of discussions underscore the industry’s commitment to innovation and sustainability. With automation and future technologies taking centre stage, the event exceeded expectations by creating an environment where visionary ideas and practical solutions converged. Customers are once again ready to invest, signalling renewed confidence and growth opportunities. This positive momentum encourages us and strengthens our outlook for the future.”
Werner Volkaert, Managing Director, Sedo Treepoint

"ITMA ASIA + CITME 2025 in Singapore proved to be a truly global platform, bringing together a remarkably international audience. The high visitor numbers, the quality of discussions, and the strong focus on innovation and sustainability reflected the industry's evolving priorities. For us, the event reaffirmed the importance of personal dialogue in shaping the future of nonwovens and textile technology."
Tobias Schäfer, Vice President, ANDRITZ Nonwoven & Textile

“We were impressed by the high quality and diversity of visitors at ITMA ASIA + CITME 2025 in Singapore. The event proved to be an excellent platform for meaningful discussions and new connections across the entire Asian textile market. Singapore’s dynamic and well-organized setting provided the ideal environment to exchange ideas, explore innovations, and strengthen partnerships throughout the region. Focus topics were definitely increasing efficiency in the textile production at currently uncertain times.” 
Kathrin Pleva, Managing Director, PLEVA

“ITMA ASIA + CITME 2025 Singapore was well attended and attracted qualified visitors. It's strategic geographic location connected the Southeast Asian region and positioned the event as a central meeting point for the textile industry.”
Riccarda Dilo, Member of the Executive Board, DILO Group

“Choosing Singapore as the location for ITMA ASIA + CITME 2025 was absolutely the right decision. Our expectations were exceeded both in terms of the quality and the number of international visitors.”
Torsten von Koch, Sales Director, Georg Sahm 

“ITMA ASIA + CITME 2025 in Singapore was worth a visit. The location was excellent for visitors from the ASEAN countries and Singapore offers an excellent infrastructure. We were impressed by the numbers of visitors and the quality of meetings with customers, who came mainly from Pakistan, India and Bangladesh. The focus of visitors was on the finishing of outerwear, denim and automation. Many customers plan to realize their projects in the course of 2026.”
Hans-Gerhard Wroblowski, Sales Manager SEA, A. Monforts Textilmaschinen 

From 16 to 22 September 2027, ITMA will return to Germany (Hannover) for the first time in 20 years. The leading international trade fair for textile machinery and clothing technology is expected to attract over 100,000 decision-makers from almost all textile-producing countries. 

The National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO), representing the full spectrum of U.S. textiles from fiber, yarn, and fabrics to finished sewn products, welcomes the review of the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA) and calls on the administration to strengthen and to extend the trade deal to preserve a crucial Western Hemisphere co-production chain, enhance customs enforcement, and confront predatory trade practices that threaten domestic jobs and supply chains.

NCTO expressed strong support for preservation of the current exemption of USMCA-qualifying trade from International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) tariffs imposed to curb the flow of illicit fentanyl and illegal migration, while also calling for a similar exemption for qualifying trade under the Dominican Republic-Central America-United States Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) currently subject to IEEPA reciprocal tariffs, in public comments submitted to the U.S. Trade Representative’s office today.

The U.S. textile industry ships $12.3 billion, or 53 percent, of its total global textile exports to Mexico and Canada--by far the largest export markets for American textile producers. Those component materials often come back as finished products to the United States under the USMCA. The $20 billion in two-way trade between the United States and these countries spurs enormous textile investment and employment at home.

NCTO’s public comments were submitted as part of a USTR public consultation on the operation of the USCMA in advance of a joint review of the USMCA with Mexico and Canada to take place next year.

“We welcome the Trump administration’s efforts to combat the highly aggressive predatory trade practices facing our industry to offset decades-long inequities and to establish a more balanced trade environment for U.S. textile and apparel manufacturers,” NCTO stated. “We ask the administration not to lose sight of the valuable trade partnerships we have with countries in the Western Hemisphere, on which the U.S. textile industry depends. We also hope the administration will…address issues of consequence to our industry, including harmful exceptions to yarn forward and increased customs cooperation among the USMCA parties to confront unfair trade practices.”

Key areas outlined for improvement of the USMCA include the following:

• Preserving and strengthening the agreement’s yarn-forward rule of origin, by limiting harmful exceptions to the rule, such as tariff preference levels and single transformation rules that weaken regional supply chains and disadvantage U.S. manufacturers.
• Strengthening USMCA Customs Enforcement Cooperation including trade data reviews and public reporting of data, creation of a public blacklist of repeat offenders of trade laws, and intensifying punishment of customs offenders in all three countries.