CONGRATULATIONS TO MARIA D’ANDREAYOTHERS ON RECEIPT OF DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE’S HIGHEST HONOR

On Tuesday, September 27, Maria D’Andrea-Yothers was part of a team that won the Department of Commerce’s Gold Medal Award (the highest award distinction) for their collective work on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement, which was concluded in October 2015 and ratified by the 12 TPP Partner countries in February of this year.

Maria was part of the team that negotiated the special disciplines to govern trade in clothing and textiles – a challenging and complex task given the sensitivities of the domestic industry and the greater access to the U.S. market that was requested by U.S. apparel and footwear brands and retailers. Maria dedicated 6 years to the negotiations and traveled extensively in the U.S. and to other TPP Partner countries.

While the future of the Agreement is uncertain in Congress and the incoming Administration, Maria and the rest of the government team, who worked tirelessly to conclude a “21st century Agreement”, hope that it will be implemented in the future so that U.S. businesses can compete in the fast-growing Asia-Pacific region. (submitted by Sam Yothers).