The government is seeking US support in order to improve conditions in the negotiation of the Trans-Pacific Partnership to minimize the impact it will have on sectors such as textiles.
From a statement issued by the Ministry of Economy of El Salvador (MINEC):
Analysis of the impact of the Trans-Pacific Partnership on the region.
The competition which sectors such as textiles could face is one of the elements raising questions among employers in the region, compared to the real benefits that could be accrued if Central America participates in the Strategic Economic Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP).
The presence of direct competitors, such as countries like Vietnam, in the textile sector, and the possibility of losing dominance in the American market due to trade rules that TPP countries must meet, is unsettling the productive sectors in the region and forcing a reckoning of the pros and cons of a possible entry to the block to be undertaken.
The president of the Dominican Republic has warned the U.S. government about the impact the Trans- Pacific treaty in the textile sector in the region.
From a statement by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Dominican Republic:
On November 27, President Danilo Medina sent a communication to the President of the United States, Barack Obama, in which it reiterated its concern expressed during the meeting held in San José, Costa Rica, in May, in connection with the negative impact which could come from the Trans- Pacific Economic Partnership Agreement (TPP) on the textile and clothing industry in the signatory countries of the DR -CAFTA and the region, if certain special concessions that could cause changes in the management and values of hemispheric trade, and on a worldwide level.
The Trans-Pacific agreement being negotiated by the U.S. could authorize Vietnam to get threads from China and export duty-free textiles to the North American nation.
The Ambassador of El Salvador in that country, Ruben Zamora, has already raised concerns with officials from the U.S. trade office (USTR). Zamora affirmed that representatives from textile companies have visited the U.S. and plan to make more visits in order to draw attention to the situation.