U.S., Costa Rica agree on pocket fabric under CAFTA-DR

U.S., Costa Rica agree on pocket fabric under CAFTA-DR    The Office of the U.S. trade Representative said Tuesday that the U.S. and Costa Rica have signed an agreement on the status of pocketing fabric under the Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA).
   The somewhat technical point, which was nonetheless described by U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab as 'a high priority for our industry and the industries in the region,' concludes agreements on pocketing fabric for all the signatories to DR-CAFTA. The U.S. and the other signatories agreed to negotiate amendments on pocketing fabric when concerns were raised in 2005 during Congressional consideration to implement the agreement.
   Under the agreement, if an apparel item contains any pockets, the pocket fabric must be formed and finished in the territory of one or more of the countries participating in the agreement for that product to qualify as an originating good under the agreement.
   The agreement includes Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua, and the U.S.