The Obama administration has certainly ushered in an era of “change,” as was touted in the campaign, not the least of which involves the governments approach to trade policies. As the Outdoor Industry Association (OIA) prepares for its annual capital summit next week, OIA Director of Trade Policy Alex Boian said the organization is anticipating acting a bridge between the environment and business that the government can utilize.
“People think [trade] is not going to do as well under a democratic administration,” he remarked. “Bush was focused on free trade and Obama signaled hes going to slow that down [But] I think the outdoor industry is in a unique and great place to work with outdoor businesses and the Democrats in Congress because the industry itself comes from this ethos of environmental stewardship and responsibility. Where trade is going, the Obama administration is going to be incorporating more environmental standards and labor standards Our industry sprung from that.”
Boian said the OIA wants to bridge the gap between the business community and environmental communities because it has a foot in both camps. “Our members are businesses and need to pay attention to [environmental] and business values at the same time.”
Looking forward, OIAs capital summit will focus on the introduction between the new administration and OIA, as well as discussing its trade agenda for the year. The organizations goals include working towards passing the U.S. Optimal Use of Trade to Develop Outerwear and Outdoor Recreation (OUTDOOR) Act, developed over the past several years by the OIA.
“The U.S. OUTDOOR Act [is a] bill that would make imports of certain kinds of outerwear duty-free,” explained Boian, “And also has an investment piece that channels resources back into American jobs and U.S.-based technology and sustainable supply chains.”
Additionally, the organization will seek this year to pass other OIA and OIAPAC business legislative priorities, such as The Affordable Footwear Act and the Miscellaneous Tariff Bills, as well as promote the OIA Eco-Index Working Group and the OIA Fair Labor Working Group.
