ABINGDON – Representatives from the Secondary Materials and Recycled Textiles Association (SMART) have objected in front of the US Trade Representative, to a proposed ban on secondhand clothing imports from the US, which was tabled by the East African Community (EAC) earlier this year. The EAC says the imports of secondhand US clothing has caused a decline in the local African textile industry. SMART says 40,000 US jobs in the private sector and 150,000 third sector jobs will be negatively affected by the ban, causing up to 75 per cent reduction in revenues for some US textile businesses.
