Chamber wants military base on Tinian

The Saipan Chamber of Commerce said it would ask the federal government to put up a military installation on Tinian, saying that military presence in the Northern Marianas would help stimulate the economy.

Besides expressing its support for a military installation at the Tinian North Field, Chamber president Alex Sablan also expressed support to the Babauta administration’s call for the creation of a National Guard for the CNMI.

Sablan spoke about the Chamber’s support for military presence in his speech during the group’s installation dinner at the Dai-Ichi Hotel’s Hibiscus Hall Saturday night, which officially inaugurated the Chamber’s new set of officers for 2005.

Sablan said the Chamber would work with its Guam counterpart, after meeting with Guam Chamber of Commerce chairman Monty McDowell, who also graced the installation dinner.

“With a planned trip in April to meet with the congressional Armed Forces committee and Secretaries of the Armed Forces, I have asked that the Saipan Chamber also be included and we hope to continue with our crusade to lobby and encourage our Armed Forces to expand further in our region,” Sablan said.

Sablan urged Gov. Juan N. Babauta, Washington Rep. Pete A. Tenorio, and Tinian’s municipal and legislative delegations in the Chambers’ effort to obtain a more prominent military presence and support in the Marianas region.

“If we are successful at including both [military installation on Tinian and the governor’s movement for a CNMI National Guard] to our whitepaper, we hope to begin our efforts to plant a seed and expand our market base with Armed Forces dollars,” he said.

Sablan also spoke about the successes in the tourism industry, noting the recent approval by the Chinese government of the CNMI’s application for Approved Destination Status.

He expressed concern, though, on what is happening in the garment industry, as quotas on apparel exports to the United States got lifted earlier this year, pursuant to World Trade Organization agreement.

Sablan lauded Babauta and Tenorio for working with the Saipan Garment Manufacturers Association in lobbying for the amendment of the U.S. Tariff Code. The SGMA wants the U.S. Congress to amend the U.S. Tariff Code to reduce value-added requirement on garment imports from 50 percent to 30 percent for local manufacturers to avail of duty-free treatment.

Currently, the U.S. Tariff Code requires that 50 percent of the value of the garment has to be added locally by transformation, in terms of additional labor, packaging or other overhead costs, so that garment products coming from U.S. exporters like the Commonwealth could enter the United States duty-free.

“But we can do more and we have pleaded and continue to plead with the administration and our Legislature to refrain from raising fees and taxes and subsequently the cost of living and doing business in the CNMI, until we can meet at least half-way on legislation that continues to stymie real significant growth,” he said.

“We, the business community, want to know when we will talk about removing the [hiring] moratorium, three-year limit, implementing tiered wage to protect the garment industry we have, and promote the CNMI as an investment paradise,” he said.

Sablan urged the government to improve on tax collection efforts to stop “revenue leaks” from the government.

During the installation dinner, the governor spoke about his administration’s accomplishments in stimulating tourism and the economy.

“And we did what business can’t do—the oldest trick in the book to stimulate the economy—public works projects: $100 million in the last three years for infrastructure to clean up our environment, deliver water to people’s homes, and make the Marianas a place that supports and attracts business investment,” the governor said.

“We can be the epicenter of education in the Pacific. Private business is already offering skills training here, and there is a huge market in Asia of people who want the experience of studying in America,” he added.