International Trade Groups call for Maritime Security in Red Sea

NEW YORK : More than 100 industry trade associations representing the apparel, retail, energy, agriculture, electronics and medicine sectors have formed a global coalition to safeguard Red Sea commerce.

On Thursday, the American Apparel & Footwear Association (AAFA) and the International Apparel Federation (IAF), along with groups like the National Retail Federation (NRF), the Agricultural Retailers Association, the Taiwan Textile Federation, the African Coalition for Trade, the Brazilian Textile and Apparel Industry Association and the Clothing Manufacturers Association of India released an open letter calling for broader government cooperation to keep the Red Sea, a thoroughfare for 30 percent of global trade, open and safe for cargo transport.

The groups pointed to multinational security initiative Operation Prosperity Guardian, which counts 23 nations as participants, as an example of effective collaboration. The U.S. military-led operation kicked off in December as a means of responding to the Houthi attacks on shipping vessels in the Red Sea and protecting maritime traffic from interference.

Since the rebel attacks began in October, carriers have been diverting shipments once destined to pass through the Suez Canal to other trade routes. More than $80 billion in cargo has been rerouted around Africa’s Cape of Good Hope, adding two to three weeks of additional travel time and hundreds of thousands of dollars of additional fuel and labor costs, International Apparel Federation secretary general Matthijs Crietee said. During the Southern Hemisphere’s winter months, this workaround becomes a bigger challenge.

“Cooperation among nations is essential to signal the importance of free passage in international waters,” he added.

According to the signatories, “shipping lanes on the other side of the world from the Red Sea are beginning to be adversely affected and that global transportation is already strained from reduced access to the drought-ridden Panama Canal.” Knock-on effects include port congestion, equipment shortages and heightened freight rates, which the groups believe have exacerbated the effects of lingering inflation.

“It is imperative that governments unite behind a zero-tolerance approach to deter attacks on commercial vessels and seafarers in the Red Sea, and anywhere in the world,” AAFA president and CEO Steve Lamar wrote. “The prosperity of millions of people who are employed in our industries and in the global maritime industry depends on safe and secure freedom of navigation.”