US Senate staff briefed on garment industry

The Saipan Garment Manufacturers Association recently briefed U.S. Senate Energy Committee majority staffer Josh Johnson on industry economics and asked him for help in keeping Saipan’s factories competitive.

The briefing was held on Friday, March 25, in a private meeting at the Hyatt Hotel.

Johnson had toured United International Corp. a day earlier with SGMA officials.

At the breakfast meeting, Washington Representative Pete A. Tenorio and Jim Berne, former senior counsel for Energy Committee chairman Frank Murkowski, together with SGMA executive director Richard A. Pierce, outlined current garment industry matters.

Others who attended the meeting were SGMA chair James C. Lin, Concorde Garment’s Jack Torres and Lynn Knight, Mayce Cheng from Onwel Manufacturing, Marian A. Pierce of Duty Free Shoppers-Saipan and the Governor’s Strategic Economic Development Council, Mike Vogan of SITCO and Anna Teregeyo from the Resident Representative’s Office.

Josh Johnson was presented, through a PowerPoint exhibit, with the latest garment industry’s direct and indirect contributions to the CNMI economy and what would happen to CNMI revenue contributions with any change in factory output and/or downsizing.

Pierce illustrated China’s tremendous export growth for the month of January at an average of 321 percent in clothing styles produced on Saipan, as well as a 35 percent drop in their pricing structure.

Competing foreign countries’ free trade agreements were shown as a further deterrent to Saipan factory orders. These agreements have contributed to a 30.3 percent drop in factory sales in the past 60 days here on Saipan.

Pierce then outlined help that the factories need in remaining competitive. The difference between the current 50 percent value-added requirement, and the proposed 30 percent amendment, and how that would affect Saipan factory pricing structure, was illustrated.

Johnson and Berne offered suggestions on how best to approach the U.S. Congress on the attempt to amend General Note 3(a)(iv), and requested additional information of SGMA.

SGMA will present its latest industry update at the SEDC meeting on April 12, 2005 at the CNMI Senate chambers and at the Saipan Chamber of Commerce’s monthly general membership meeting on May 4, 2005. (PR)