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SCC’s Cepeda: Headnote amendment worth a try
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Posted on Dec 07 2006
With no news yet from Washington D.C. on the CNMI’s push for federal amendment to lower the local add-on requirement for garment products, Saipan Chamber of Commerce president Charles Cepeda could only hope it gets through Congress, but recent information reaching him indicates that is it is now far-fetched.
“My understanding is that it’s pretty much dead. It was worth the try,” said Cepeda in an interview.
He said that the CNMI bill “got into some roadblock in D.C.”
He did not elaborate.
The Fitial administration’s special consultant on trade relations Richard Pierce is currently in D.C. to continue to lobby for the bill’s passage.
In a statement last Friday, Pierce said the CNMI legislation, S. 1954, may be included in the omnibus bill that may pass this week.
“It now seems that perhaps even provisions of the miscellaneous tariff bill, where we had originally hoped to find a way to pass our legislation, S. 1954, may be included as well on the omnibus bill supported by many for passage this year before the 109th Congress adjourns,” Pierce had said.
With the announcement of the closure of Concorde Garment Manufacturing early next year, the administration is pinning its hopes on the passage of the amendment bill in Congress, which would allow the remaining garment factories in the CNMI to be competitive.
The government and the business community have asked the U.S. Congress to amend Headnote 3(a) of the U.S. Tariff Code and allow CNMI-made garment products that have up to 70 percent foreign content to enter the United States duty-free.
Currently, the U.S. Tariff Code only allows up to 50-percent foreign content. Due to this requirement, much of the manufacturing process, including cutting, sewing and packaging, has to be done on island.
A 70-30 content ratio would allow Saipan factories flexibility to cut garment pieces overseas, where costs are lower, and do the assembly on island. [I][B](Liberty Dones)[/B][/I]
