WASHINGTON, D.C. — ATMI President Charles A. Hayes, Guilford Mills, Inc., expressed the textile
industry’s appreciation to the governors of Alabama, Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina for
their letter to President George W. Bush urging the Administration to take immediate action to
alleviate the crisis facing the U.S. textile industry. “The governors of our country’s four largest
textile producing states have recognized the clear threat the current textile crisis poses not only
to their own states and constituencies, but to our nation’s economy as a whole,” Hayes said. “We
appreciate their call for President Bush to similarly recognize the urgency of this situation and
to make maximum use of his powers under existing law to confront the problems caused by foreign
unfair trade practices.” “As the governors have noted, President Bush has shown a commendable
willingness to take actions to provide a level playing field for the steel industry. It is now time
for him to similarly step up to the plate on behalf of the American textile industry, which if
anything is facing even more difficult times. Asian currency devaluations have produced a 40
percent average reduction in the cost of textile and apparel imports into the United States. U.S.
companies and workers are being devastated by this contrived advantage that has nothing to do with
Asia’s economic competitiveness.” Hayes said, “The hard-working textile employees in Alabama,
Georgia, North Carolina and South Carolina, as well as throughout the country, are looking to the
President and his Administration to show this same concern for U.S. textile jobs. Our industry
contributes over $70 billion to the national economy, and employs nearly one-half million people.
These individuals need their President to go to bat for them.” “We join the governors of these
states in urging President Bush to make immediate use of all the weapons in his arsenal to fight
unfair trade practices and to prohibit the importation of goods made with child labor. We further
support the governors’ call for the president to instruct his negotiators not to negotiate any new
trade pacts that will lead to more job losses in the U.S. textile industry.”
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