The National Council of Textile Organisations (NCTO) recently urged the government to institute a ‘Buy American’ policy to help bolster US manufacturers producing personal protective equipment (PPE) for frontline workers battling the COVID-19 pandemic.
The US Department of Defence already operates under a fibre-to-finished product ‘Buy American’ rule for military textiles.
“If the government is sincere about reconstituting a US production chain for medical PPE to resolve the drastic shortages we are experiencing during the current pandemic; it is going to have to make key policy changes to help incentivize domestic production.
A strong Buy American mandate for these vital healthcare materials needs to be instituted for all federal agencies, coupled with other reasonable production incentives, to help ensure a strong US manufacturing base for these essential products,” Kim Glas NCTO President and Chief Executive Officer Kim said in a statement.
The department of defence rule ensures that the vital textile materials US forces depend upon come from a secure domestic production chain that cannot be severed during a military emergency by offshore entities, he said.
