New US Textile Investments, Sourcing Commitments for Central America
Vice President Kamala Harris recently disclosed $585 million in fresh textile and apparel investments as well as Central American sourcing commitments. President of the National Council of Textile Organizations (NCTO), Kim Glas, welcomed the decision and noted that over $1 billion in new textile and apparel investments have been announced in the United States and Central America over the previous 12 months.
The White House stated in a factsheet that Columbia Sportswear Company has agreed to spend up to $200 million on products, which will generate more than 6,900 jobs in the area over the next five years, most of which will go to women.
For the purpose of producing clothing and elastic fabrics for the sportswear and shapewear markets, Nextil has promised to invest $40 million in two new production facilities in Guatemala. Over 1,300 direct jobs and 3,000 indirect jobs are anticipated to be generated by the facilities.
To supply fabric to clothing manufacturers in Central America, Protela-Colombia has committed to investing $45 million in the construction of a vertically integrated textile manufacturing facility in Guatemala. This facility is expected to directly employ 400 people.
“We sincerely appreciate the administration’s support for this crucial manufacturing industry, which has served as the foundation for both Central America’s and the US economy’s growth. And we look forward to working with our retail and brand partners to continue to expand our vital manufacturing sector,” In a statement, Glas said.
Over the last year, substantial investments have been flowing into Central America, predicated on the Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) and the co-production chain that facilitates $15.1 billion in two-way textile and apparel trade and supports more than one million workers in the United States and the region, NCTO said.
“We saw apparel imports largely containing US textile inputs from the CAFTA-DR region jump 24 per cent, according to the latest government trade data, and we have seen well over $1 billion in investments in the region,” Glas added.
Reference: Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
