A US congressional delegation led by Congressman Lou Correa visited textile and apparel facilities in an industrial park in Choloma in Honduras recently. The delegation witnessed the significant investments, expansions and job creation in the country’s textile and apparel sector and the US-made fibres and yarns utilised in the production process.
Correa is chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee’s sub-committee on oversight, management and accountability.
The delegation toured units of several companies, including Parkdale Mills, Elcatex and SanMar, all of which have facilities in Honduras and are expanding their footprints in the region, a press release from the National Council of Textile Organisations (NCTO) said.
These new investments in the industrial park were recently highlighted by Vice President Kamala Harris, who is calling on private industry to promote economic opportunity in the region to address the root causes of migration.
In addition, the delegation is scheduled to meet other top-level US and Honduran textile and apparel executives to discuss this critically important co-production chain.
The Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR) has spawned a textile and apparel co-production chain, resulting in $12.6 billion in two-way trade and hundreds of millions of dollars in investments in the region. Nearly $1 billion of historic textile and apparel investment is anticipated this year alone, NCTO said.
“The critical importance of the US-CAFTA-DR to the region and the significant investments that is being made by this sector cannot be overstated. This agreement and the textile rules included has driven massive investment and support over 530,000 jobs in the region and 500,000 in Central America. This is a pivotal moment for the coproduction chain between the U.S. and regional textile and apparel industries, in light of onshoring and nearshoring trends,” NCTO president and chief executive officer Kim Glas said.
Source: https://www.fibre2fashion.com/