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‘Babauta administration not proactive on garment industry’
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Posted on Mar 05 2005
“Too little, too late.”
This is how the Covenant Party of the Northern Marianas characterizes the Babauta administration’s belated attempt to do something about the garment industry’s diminished competitiveness in the wake of the new World Trade Organization rules coming into effect.
After at least two companies have already folded, the Babauta administration recently announced the formation of a “fact-finding committee” that would evaluate the financial impact of the industry’s expected reductions.
“Business people knew about this years ago,” said Martin Manglona, chair of the Marianas Covenant Party.
“The Babauta administration had three whole years to anticipate and plan for the garment industry’s impending decline, yet it did absolutely nothing to mitigate these grave economic effects by attracting new industries or by helping the industry cope with such drastic changes,” said Rosario.
Manglona and other Covenant Party leadership and supporters believe that the Babauta administration could have worked on the 70-30 trade provision in Washington, D.C. much earlier. Had the administration been more proactive instead of complacent and reactive, a separate wage rate could have been created for the industry. User fees could have been reduced. A better labor policy could have been crafted to maximize labor productivity and reduce bureaucratic disruptions and complications.
Many party officials believe that Babauta, who was once openly hostile to the industry, could have worked more closely with industry players to come up with solutions to minimize the adverse financial impact of a quota free textile trading world in 2005.
If Fitial had won in 2001, party officials believe a fact-finding panel and task force would have been formed way back in 2002, shortly after the inauguration, to address the garment industry problems that we would encounter in 2005.
“However, it’s not too late to see better times again,” said Manglona. (PR)
