US trade groups demand renewal of trade schemes

WASHINGTON DC - US fashion brands and retailers are ramping up pressure on Congress to swiftly renew two key trade preference schemes warning that further delay will deepen damage already being felt across African and Haitian garment supply chains.

The move comes as factories and investors grapple with the fallout from last autumn’s lapse of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) and Haiti Haiti’s HOPE/HELP programmes which removed long-standing duty‑free access for apparel shipped to the US.