Perhaps nothing will ever bring the textile industry back to North Carolina to the extent it was decades ago. But unless the federal government steps up enforcement, it’s quite possible that what little industry we have left could also be gone.

Industry leaders met with Congressional officials this week to plead for help.

Under the Central American Free Trade Agreement, U.S. yarn companies were given a break when their product was shipped to Central America to be used in making clothing. U.S. companies that made socks, shirts and other items were dealt a setback.

Today’s problem is the enforcement of those trade laws. Textile officials say U.S. Customs isn’t stopping the importing of cheap foreign yarn labeled as made in the U.S.

Officials from National Council of Textile Organizations say that Pakistani and Chinese yarn spinners are using the CAFTA region to bring their finished products into the U.S. duty-free by fraudulently claiming that American yarn was used.

Ken Goodman, owner of Richmond Yarns in Ellerbe, said that while CAFTA is beneficial to his business, he is aware of the problems caused by fraudulent transfer — both now and in the past.

“This has gone on for 40 years,” Goodman said on Wednesday. “The government would pass all these regulations, like the multi-fiber agreement back in the 1970s that wouldn’t let blended fiber come into the country. Then the customs officials would turn their heads and ignore the rules.”

In Goodman’s opinion, a lot of problems would be taken care of if the federal government would just enforce the laws already on the books.

“CAFTA is fundamentally flawed,” said Rep. Larry Kissell. “It contains too many loopholes and simply provides too many opportunities to beat the system, and cheat American workers out of any fair chance to compete.”

If Congress could repeal CAFTA, it would not necessarily mean the return of jobs to Richmond County.

But as the federal government looks to jump-start the economy, maybe getting rid of CAFTA needs to be brought up. At the very least, the federal government needs to make sure that rules are being followed so U.S. workers can at least have a fair shot.