For more information on how these developments may affect your business, please contact Nicole Bivens Collinson at (202) 730-4956 or via email.
Semiconductors
Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo visited Costa Rica last week to discuss efforts to enhance semiconductor supply chain capacity in the Western Hemisphere. According to a DOC press release, President Rodrigo Chaves expressed his intention to elevate his country as a key market for semiconductor assembly, testing, and packaging. Raimondo and Chaves also discussed workforce development efforts for countries participating in the Americas Partnership for Economic Prosperity in critical digital technology sectors ranging from cybersecurity to semiconductors to artificial intelligence.
Textiles and Apparel
The White House announced this month that the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative, Central American trade agencies, and textiles and apparel industry stakeholders will work together under the CAFTA-DR agreement, with support from the Inter-American Development Bank, to build a directory with detailed profiles of manufacturing and sourcing companies in the region, including information on business practices and production capabilities. The White House said this effort will strengthen the U.S.-Central America supply chain, facilitate transparent sourcing, promote resiliency and nearshoring, and bolster labor and environmental standards in the region’s textiles and apparel sector.
Further, USTR and U.S. Customs and Border Protection will launch a trade capacity building program to advance secure trade in textiles and apparel between the U.S. and Guatemala by encouraging engagement, including with existing government-to-industry stakeholder partnerships such as CBP’s Customs Trade Partnership Against Terrorism Program and the Superintendence of Tax Administration of Guatemala’s Authorized Economic Operator Program.
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