US' NCTO slams Bessent's dismissal of textile industry value

The National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO) recently said its members were disheartened to hear US treasury secretary Scott Bessent say that the United States does not necessarily need a booming textile industry as this sector has been termed by President Donald Trump on a number of occasions ‘critical and strategic’.

In a letter addressed to Bessent, NCTO president and chief executive officer Kimberly Glas said the US textile industry made life-saving personal protective equipment during the first Donald Trump administration in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and makes over 8,000 different products for the US military alone to ensure the country does not have to rely on foreign adversaries to make essential products.