OIA on the Issues

U.S. Outdoor Act

Recreational performance outerwear - jackets and pants used for skiing and snowboarding, mountaineering, hunting, fishing and dozens of other outdoor activities - is assessed some of the highest duty rates applied to any products imported into the United States. While the average duty on imports is less than 2 percent, the rates on recreational performance outerwear average 17 percent, with some as high as 28 percent.

These disproportionately high tariffs were originally implemented to protect U.S. manufacturers from foreign competition, but now no longer serve that purpose and instead stifle innovation, add substantial costs for outdoor manufacturers, and ultimately raise prices for consumers.

OIA, a coalition of recreational performance outerwear manufacturers and the U.S. domestic textile and apparel industry have developed legislation that reflects recent findings by the International Trade Commission (ITC) that there is no commercially viable domestic production of performance outerwear. The bill, the U.S. Optimal Use of Trade to Develop Outerwear and Outdoor Recreation Act of 2009 (Outdoor), will establish new classifications for "recreational performance outerwear" that will separate these specialty products from mass market garments and eliminates the disproportionately high, unnecessary tariffs assessed on them.

The legislation also breaks new ground by establishing the Sustainable Textile and Apparel Research Fund and invests STAR Fund resources in American jobs and U.S. based technology that focus on sustainable manufacturing practices through supply chain efficiencies, minimizing water and energy use, reducing waste and other initiatives that reflect the ethic of the outdoor industry.

This bill balances the often competing interests in U.S. trade policy, reduces costs for outdoor businesses, lowers prices for consumers and invests in a sustainable future.