Project Overview Letter

U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of Industry and Security
Industrial Base Surveys and Assessments
Overview: Defense Industrial Base Assessment of the
U.S. Textile, Apparel and Footwear Industry
The Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS), Office of Technology Evaluation (OTE), is conducting
a survey and assessment of the health and competitiveness of the U.S. textile, apparel and footwear
industry. The assessment, requested by the U.S. Congress, will update a similar BIS/OTE study
conducted for Congress in 2003.
The principal goal of this study is to assist the U.S. Congress in understanding the health and
competitiveness of organizations manufacturing textiles, apparel and footwear for commercial
markets and the U.S. Government. Information collected will include employment, production,
competitors and customers, supply chain, financial information, research and development,
effectiveness of the Berry Amendment, and future industrial challenges. The resulting aggregate
data and subsequent analysis will allow industry representatives and government policy officials to
monitor trends, benchmark industry performance, and raise awareness of potential issues of
concern.
Approximately 150 organizations representing all aspects of this sector are receiving this survey.
Your participation is vital to ensure a comprehensive dataset for the assessment. BIS has worked in
successful partnership with other U.S. industry sectors and we anticipate similar cooperation from
your organization on this effort.
Legal Protections and Requirements
The information collected from all survey respondents may be used publicly in aggregated form, but
at no time will such reporting identify your specific organization. All information submitted to BIS
is protected as Business Confidential under provisions of the Defense Production Act (DPA) of
1950, as amended. Survey responses are also exempt from Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)
requests.
BIS Industrial Base Assessment Program
Since 1986, BIS has completed over 55 industrial base assessments covering a variety of critical
technologies and sectors. To view previous BIS reports and surveys, please visit our website at
http://www.bis.doc.gov/dib.
Thank you for your cooperation. We look forward to working with you.