CNMI finds ally in Young • Taxing garment products would further hurt island economy, he says

U.S. House Resources Committee Chairman Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska) has defended the Northern Marianas against proposals to slap tariffs on its garment exports to the mainland, calling them “outdated and not constructive” in dealing with the problems confronting the island.

He said taking away the trade privileges granted the Commonwealth would hurt the local economy and lead to more federal doleouts to the island which has managed to become self-sufficient unlike other U.S. territories.

Young underscored findings of his committee, which deals with island issues, during their visit to the CNMI last February, saying its garment industry should not be blamed for most of the labor problems here.

“I am concerned with your suggested legislative approach as it is an unnecessary remedy for programs which no longer exist,” he said in a letter to Rep. Bob Franks (R-NJ).

The Republican congressman has co-sponsored a bipartisan measure to tax CNMI products with Rep. John Dingell (D-Michigan) on the heels of charges that the local garment sector has robbed Americans of 20,000 jobs a year and cost the federal government more than $200 million in uncollected revenues.

In introducing the legislation last month, Franks expressed concern over the use of “Made in USA” label in finished garments from the island, a business practice he described as a threat to the apparel industry in the mainland.

But Young assailed the allegations, citing that apparel sewn in the island amounted only to half of the one percent of the total U.S. garment manufacturing.

He said the job loss is the result of the trade preferences given to Mexico and other Latin American nations which have benefited from the relocation of U.S. garment firms to take advantage of the cheaper production costs.

“(T)his kind of proposed cure will likely severely damage the economic health of the Marianas as a whole, not just garment manufacturing,” Young pointed out.

Unlike other islands, “the Marianas have gone from subsistence to near self-sufficiency in their 20 years as an American territory, a tremendous accomplishment that has eluded other insular areas,” he added.

Considered by local leaders as one of its strongest allies in the Congress, Young and members of his committee toured the island in February in which they reassured island officials of their support against federal takeover of CNMI labor, immigration, minimum wage and customs.

According to the chairman, their inspection of factories and workers’ housing revealed compliance with U.S. labor, safety and health laws and that problems on these areas are “virtually nonexistent in the garment industry.”

A top federal official had also disclosed to the delegation during the visit that the real labor problem in the CNMI is “no longer in the garment industry,” Young told Franks in the letter.

But the lawmaker stressed he would not tolerate labor abuses and that he would continue to work for reforms in the Commonwealth, including full enforcement of human and civil rights as well as other federal laws.

“I am confident and convinced that continued federal support for the right level of labor and law enforcement can work, complementing vigorous efforts by the local government,” he explained.

“This approach is highly preferable to ill-fitting punitive measures by Washington that would hurt an entire society and economy while undermining the progress toward Congress’ objective of economic self-sufficiency.”