March 13, 2000 Press Release

SAIPAN. The Saipan Garment Manufacturers Association ( SGMA ) questioned the motives behind recent statements from an Office of Insular Affairs official, Richard W. Miller, who has been critical of revenue projections made by the industry. Reports from SGMA to the Northern Marianas government originally indicated that Saipan’s factories would suffer losses in sales for 1999 of 20% to 30% over 1998 figures. Miller compared this to U.S. Department of Commerce figures, which indicate that actual shipments into the U.S. from Saipan only dipped less than 3%.

SGMA Executive Director Richard A. Pierce labeled Miller’s criticism of SGMA by declaring, "What do you expect from an OIA guy? I don’t understand why it is of any consequence to OIA whether we lose 3% or 30%. Everyone knows that if it weren’t for them wishing it were 100%, they wouldn’t even be commenting on our statements."

Earlier projections of SGMA responded to local government inquiries and stated that sales were expected to dip as a result of a $1 billion class action lawsuit filed in January of 1999 against the industry. "We were also anticipating current market trends linked to the economic conditions in Asia and the threat of extension of federal authority on immigration and minimum wage in the CNMI," said Pierce.

Late last year as Asian countries ran out of quota to ship garments to the U.S., this unexpectedly benefited the Saipan garment industry. According to Pierce, the market nearly made up for expected losses from buyers’ hesitation and reluctance due to the litigation, as orders were literally forced back to CNMI factories. Some buyers also came back after recognizing the high quality production they received on Saipan garments compared to other countries.

According to Pierce, estimates for the industry’s future indicate that sales will drop off drastically during the second quarter of 2000. Importation of fabric can be monitored by CNMI Customs’ consumption entry forms, which verify that sales will drop as production in factory lines slow. With strong winter line orders, SGMA now estimates on overall 15% to 20% reduction in sales in the year 2000.

"OIA has been critical of CNMI minimum wage studies that have shown that raising wages would drive the industry out of Saipan," said Pierce. "They have also criticized the CNMI government for attempts to alter the progression of a decline in revenue by amending their own laws. They’ve even tried to discredit an economy study of their own funding by Northern Marianas College’s Economic Planning Conference Report, which stated that the CNMI economy would collapse if there were a federal takeover of immigration and wages. They criticized the Hay Group report which recommended freezing wages for 3 years, and a study released last month by the U.S. General Accounting Office, which underscored the garment industry’s significance in the CNMI. Now they’re critical of us losing less money than we said we were going to."

"The specter of David North is alive and well at OIA."

David North, an official at the Office of Insular Affairs quietly retired 10 days after his computer was subpoenaed last year as he became target of an investigation against the Office of Interior for conducting "anti-GOP efforts." Chaired by U.S. Congressman Don Young, the investigation under the House Resources Committee alleges on the job political research by North, as well as former OIA head Allen Stayman and Jeffrey Farrow, a senior White House official who chairs the Interagency Group on Insular Affairs.

In an August 1999 letter to members of the Committee, Congressman John Doolittle said, "The political attacks launched from OIA were aimed at the House leadership, rank and file Republican Members … all ostensibly because of their stand on labor and immigration issues concerning the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). In fact, the CNMI was a convenient excuse for illegal partisan campaigning assistance in the form of made-to-order press releases and opposition research offered to Democratic campaigns and offers of help to the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCoC)."