Interviews
US & CAFTA-DR will encourage vibrant textile & apparel supply chain
26 Feb '11
6 min read
The CAFTA-DR Agreement includes a Committee on Trade Capacity Building in recognition of the importance of such assistance in promoting economic growth, reducing poverty, and taking full opportunity of liberalized trade. In the region, such assistance is aimed at expanding the benefits to Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), facilitate rural diversification, and improve customs procedures, among other things.
To expand and broaden the benefits of the Agreement and support jobs in our respective countries, we agreed to cooperate on several new initiatives. We endorsed a regional trade facilitation initiatives to foster greater regional integration, enhance competitiveness and expand the benefits of the trade agreement, with special attention to promoting greater participation by SMEs.
We welcomed the inventory of trade facilitation projects prepared with the support of the Inter-American Development Bank, which will facilitate future discussions and activities. We thanked the Inter-American Development Bank for the valuable support that it has provided thus far as part of this phase and we requested their continued support as we move forward with the second phase of this effort. Therefore, we instructed our senior officials to undertake a process of consultation with stakeholders and self assessments to identify remaining challenges and to share best practices, including policies, programs and practices that countries can adopt to facilitate trade.
We have identified initial cooperative actions in the context of the CAFTA-DR Trade in Goods and Technical Barriers to Trade Committees to be implemented in the short term. We look forward to identifying further cooperative endeavors and to receiving a report on progress at the next Free Trade Commission meeting.
Recognizing the essential role that SMEs play in creating jobs in all of our countries, we discussed ways to help SMEs take advantage of the export opportunities that the Agreement provides. One of the challenges that SMEs face is access to relevant information on the opportunities that the Agreement offers and how to pursue these opportunities. To help address this, we released a brochure entitled “Frequently Asked Questions About Opportunities for Small Businesses to Export in the CAFTA-DR Region”, a publication designed to answer basic questions for firms that are considering exporting for the first time.
El Salvador presented information on its experience in establishing Development Centers for Micro- and Small-Businesses as a potential model for strengthening SMEs. We endorsed sharing country best practices for supporting small businesses which seek to engage in trade. We discussed the establishment of Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) in the region, with the goal of linking to an online trade assistance and information portal for SBDC centers and small businesses in the United States at SBDCglobal.com. We instructed our senior officials to further explore these and other activities to foster greater participation of SMEs in CAFTA-DR trade. We have also requested those entities responsible for SMEs in each of our countries to meet to explore regional projects and approaches to advance this initiative.
We also welcomed the support and assistance of the Inter-American Development Bank in developing a CAFTA-DR textile and apparel sourcing directory to enhance communication and sourcing between buyers and manufacturers within the region. This collaborative effort among governments and industry in the region aims to encourage integrated supply chains, and to grow regional textiles trade and assist producers to capitalize on the benefits of the Agreement and increase regional competitiveness.
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We welcomed the reports and commend the work of the Labor Council, the Environmental Council and the Trade Capacity Building Committee. We recognize the importance of transparency and maintaining communication with all stakeholders. We will continue to use existing mechanisms for receiving meaningful public comment as part of our commitment to engagement with stakeholders.
To expand and broaden the benefits of the Agreement and support jobs in our respective countries, we agreed to cooperate on several new initiatives. We endorsed a regional trade facilitation initiatives to foster greater regional integration, enhance competitiveness and expand the benefits of the trade agreement, with special attention to promoting greater participation by SMEs.
We welcomed the inventory of trade facilitation projects prepared with the support of the Inter-American Development Bank, which will facilitate future discussions and activities. We thanked the Inter-American Development Bank for the valuable support that it has provided thus far as part of this phase and we requested their continued support as we move forward with the second phase of this effort. Therefore, we instructed our senior officials to undertake a process of consultation with stakeholders and self assessments to identify remaining challenges and to share best practices, including policies, programs and practices that countries can adopt to facilitate trade.
We have identified initial cooperative actions in the context of the CAFTA-DR Trade in Goods and Technical Barriers to Trade Committees to be implemented in the short term. We look forward to identifying further cooperative endeavors and to receiving a report on progress at the next Free Trade Commission meeting.
Recognizing the essential role that SMEs play in creating jobs in all of our countries, we discussed ways to help SMEs take advantage of the export opportunities that the Agreement provides. One of the challenges that SMEs face is access to relevant information on the opportunities that the Agreement offers and how to pursue these opportunities. To help address this, we released a brochure entitled “Frequently Asked Questions About Opportunities for Small Businesses to Export in the CAFTA-DR Region”, a publication designed to answer basic questions for firms that are considering exporting for the first time.
El Salvador presented information on its experience in establishing Development Centers for Micro- and Small-Businesses as a potential model for strengthening SMEs. We endorsed sharing country best practices for supporting small businesses which seek to engage in trade. We discussed the establishment of Small Business Development Centers (SBDC) in the region, with the goal of linking to an online trade assistance and information portal for SBDC centers and small businesses in the United States at SBDCglobal.com. We instructed our senior officials to further explore these and other activities to foster greater participation of SMEs in CAFTA-DR trade. We have also requested those entities responsible for SMEs in each of our countries to meet to explore regional projects and approaches to advance this initiative.
We also welcomed the support and assistance of the Inter-American Development Bank in developing a CAFTA-DR textile and apparel sourcing directory to enhance communication and sourcing between buyers and manufacturers within the region. This collaborative effort among governments and industry in the region aims to encourage integrated supply chains, and to grow regional textiles trade and assist producers to capitalize on the benefits of the Agreement and increase regional competitiveness.
Click here to read more details:
We welcomed the reports and commend the work of the Labor Council, the Environmental Council and the Trade Capacity Building Committee. We recognize the importance of transparency and maintaining communication with all stakeholders. We will continue to use existing mechanisms for receiving meaningful public comment as part of our commitment to engagement with stakeholders.
United States Trade Representative
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-Ltd..jpg?tr=w-120,h-60,c-at_max,cm-pad_resize,bg-ffffff "Thermore (Far East) Ltd.")
.jpg?tr=w-120,h-60,c-at_max,cm-pad_resize,bg-ffffff "Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation Limited (TSllC Ltd)")
.jpg?tr=w-120,h-60,c-at_max,cm-pad_resize,bg-ffffff "Taiwan Textile Federation (TTF)")
