The Oriental Rug Importers Association (ORIA) is the national trade association of importer/wholesalers in the U.S. The ORIA is responsible for promoting the Oriental rug trade in the United States and assisting members in conducting their businesses. The success of the ORIA is dependent upon the active involvement and cooperation of all its members. Below are highlights of important ORIA accomplishments, activities and publications. This summary illustrates a few of the many benefits of membership in the ORIA.
Legislative Representation In Washington
The ORIA employs the services of the highly regarded Washington Law Firm of Sidley Austin. This firm works on trade issues that affect our industry. Two recent items that we have accomplished with their assistance are:
- The Harkin Legislation (Child Labor Bill)
Successfully opposed the Harkin Legislation – which threatened to ban the importation of any product made with child labor into the United States. - China Quota
Convinced U.S. Customs that carpets from China should be declared as a handicraft item which would exempt them from any quota. In achieving this goal, we were then able to successfully remove Chinese carpets from the U.S. Customs quota system.
The Area Magazine
Area Magazine, formerly Oriental Rug Magazine, is an award winning quarterly publication geared toward appealing to, and educating retailers about Oriental rugs. This a high quality publication with current news and articles about the industry. The Area Magazine provides members an important trade advertising vehicle at extremely reasonable cost; (advertising is accepted from ORIA members only). In addition, all ORIA members receive a free subscription to our magazine.
National Oriental Rug Show In Atlanta (NORS)
ORIA members have the opportunity to participate in The National Oriental Rug Show (NORS) cosponsored each January by ORIA and Americasmart of Atlanta. The year 2015 will mark our 32th year of co-sponsoring this trade show, the most comprehensive Oriental rug market in the United States.