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Bush backing awaited for Head Note 3(a) amendment
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Posted on Nov 08 2005
For now, the Department of the Interior could offer no more than behind-the-scenes support for the CNMI’s efforts to get Head Note 3(a) of the U.S. Harmonized Tariff Schedule amended by the U.S. Congress, a ranking federal official said yesterday.
Deputy Interior assistant secretary for insular affairs David Cohen said he had been meeting with other officials in Washington, D.C. to make sure that other federal agencies understood the importance of the Head Note 3(a) amendment to the Commonwealth.
But because the Bush administration has not taken a stand on the issue, the Interior Department is not yet in the position to lobby Congress for anything.
“Typically, on these issues, we’re the ones that are familiar with the needs and interests of the islands. It’s really up to us to make sure that our fellow federal agencies are aware of those interests,” Cohen said.
“Right now, we have not been called upon to take a position yet. We’re just at a point of OIA making other agencies aware of the importance of the issue to the CNMI. We’re having behind-the-scenes conversations about the issue,” he added.
Idaho Sen. Larry E. Craig and Hawaii Sen. Daniel Akaka introduced on Nov. 2 a bill that would amend the General Note 3 (a) to give products imported from U.S. insular possessions the same treatment as products imported from countries with which the United States has entered into a free trade agreement.
The amendment would allow the garment manufacturers in the CNMI to increase the value of imported raw materials from 50 percent to 70 percent. This means that the local value-added content of garments made in the CNMI would be reduced to 30 percent.
The amendment would also reduce the amount of fabric waste on Saipan and decrease the number of nonresident workers in the CNMI.
The bill’s introduction came following the U.S. Congress’ passage of the Central American Free Trade Agreement.
CAFTA extends trade privileges to Nicaragua, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, Costa Rica and Dominican Republic. Similar trade agreements had been granted to Middle Eastern countries like Jordan and Egypt.
