By Farhana Iqbal, Marketing Coordinator

The third series of the Apparel and Textile Breakfast Conference again proved to be highly informative and interactive, with practical and experienced insight into customs law and international outsourcing.

Held Nov. 19 at the Yale Club in New York City, the Foundation for Accounting Education event, hosted by committee chair Paul D. Schuldiner, of Transcap Trade Finance, included speakers Alan Goggins, a partner with Barnes, Richardson & Colburn, and Tedd Sattler, executive vice president of foreign operations for Phillips-Van Heusen.

Goggins provided the attendees with a detailed update on various new developments in customs law, including tariff classification issues pertaining to different types of garments, and preferential tariff treaties and their impact on apparel and textile companies.

Sattler discussed the implications of the World Trade Organization’s decision to eliminate quotas for merchandise orders, noting that the removal of quotas, set to take place for all WTO members in 2005, will cause significant changes to companies’ outsourcing processes. As quotas have driven merchandise outsourcing for the past 35 years, Sattler recommended that multinational companies involved in the apparel and textile trade begin preparing for these changes by identifying countries and vendors for new trade arrangements, as well as identifying the support and supply chain requirements that will be necessary to sustain these relationships.

A question-and-answer session followed both Goggins’ and Sattler’s presentations, fostering an enthusiastic exchange between audience members and speakers.