No. TR-5003-1 Haitian Producer Questionnaire

OMB No. 3117-0016/USITC No. xx-x-xxx; Expiration Date: 6/30/08

(No response is required if currently valid OMB control number is not displayed)

QUESTIONNAIRE FOR PRODUCERS IN HAITI OF

APPAREL PRODUCTS

Return completed questionnaire to:

Russell Duncan (Tel: 202-708-4727, [email protected])

William Deese (Tel: 202-205-2626, [email protected])

UNITED STATES INTERNATIONAL TRADE COMMISSION

Office of Investigations, Room 615-U

500 E Street, SW, Washington, DC 20436

So as to be received by the Commission by no later than August 17, 2007

The information called for in this voluntary questionnaire is for use by the United States International Trade Commission in connection with its investigation No. 5003-1, Textiles and Apparel: Effects of Special Rules for Haiti and Trade Markets and Industries, under section 5003 of the Tax Relief and Health Care Act of 2006 (TRHCA) (Public Law No.109-432). The commercial and financial data furnished in response to this questionnaire that reveal the individual operations of your firm will be treated as confidential by the Commission to the extent that such data are not otherwise available to the public and will not be disclosed except as described in the certification paragraph below, and as may be required by law.

Name of firm      

Address      

City       Arrondissement      

Department Zip Code       Country Haiti

World Wide Web address      

Has your firm produced or finished any apparel product (as defined in the instruction booklet) in Haiti at any time since January 1, 2004?

NO (Sign the certification below and promptly return only this page of the questionnaire to the Commission)

YES (Read the instruction booklet carefully, complete all parts of the questionnaire, and return the entire

questionnaire to the Commission so as to be received by the date indicated above)

CERTIFICATION

I certify that the information herein supplied in response to this questionnaire is complete and correct to the best of my knowledge and belief and understand that the information submitted is subject to verification by the Commission. I acknowledge that information submitted in this questionnaire response and throughout this investigation may be used by the Commission, its employees, and contract personnel who are acting in the capacity of Commission employees, for developing or maintaining the records of this investigation or related proceedings for which this information is submitted, or in internal audits and investigations relating to the programs and operations of the Commission pursuant to 5 U.S.C. Appendix 3. I understand that all contract personnel will sign non-disclosure agreements.

I understand that the Commission will not publish or release confidential business information submitted in response to this questionnaire in its report in a manner that would reveal the individual operations of the firm supplying the information except in accordance with the notice given in the instructions manual.

                 

Name of Authorized Official Title of Authorized Official Date

      Phone: (   )           

Signature Fax (   )      E-mail address

Public reporting burden for this questionnaire is estimated to average 15 hours per response, including the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering the data needed, and completing and reviewing the questionnaire. Send comments regarding the accuracy of this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing the burden, to Louise Gillen, Office of Operations, U.S. International Trade Commission, 500 E Street, SW, Washington, DC 20436 ([email protected]).

I-1. Please report below the actual number of hours required and the cost to your firm of preparing the reply to this questionnaire and completing the form.

      hours       dollars

I-2. Provide the name and address of establishment(s) covered by this questionnaire (See the instructions for definitions).

     

I-3. Is your firm owned, in whole or in part, by any other firm?

No Yes--List the following information

Firm name	Address	Extent of ownership
     	     	     
     	     	     
     	     	     
     	     	     

I-4. Does your firm have any related firms, either in Haiti or in other countries, which are engaged in the production of apparel?

No Yes--List the following information

Firm name	Address	Affiliation
     	     	     
     	     	     
     	     	     
     	     	     

Further information on this part of the questionnaire can be obtained from Russell Duncan (202-708-4727 [email protected] ). Supply all data requested on a calendar-year basis.

II-1. Contact information: Who should be contacted regarding the data requested in this questionnaire?

Company contact:      

Name and title

(   )            

Phone number E-mail address

II-2a. Changes in operations: Has your firm experienced any of the following in relation to the production of apparel since December 20, 2006?

(check as many as appropriate)	(please describe)
plant openings	     
relocations	     
expansions	     
additional product lines	     
new foreign investment	     
new domestic investment	     

II-2. Changes in operations:--Continued

(check as many as appropriate)	(please describe)
change in employment	     
acquisitions	     
consolidations	     
closures	     
prolonged shutdowns	     
none of the above	     
other	     

Please indicate whether any of the above events occurred largely or solely as a result of the U.S. Haitian HOPE Act.

     

II-3. Constraints: Please describe any constraints that limit your capacity to produce apparel.

     

II-4. Shared Production Workers: Does your firm produce non-apparel products using the same production workers employed to produce apparel?

No Yes--List the following information.

Basis for allocation of capacity data (e.g., sales, production, or other):      

Products produced using the same workers and share of total production in 2006 (in percent):

Product	Percent
Apparel	     
     	     
     	     
     	     

II-5. Employment: Report your firm’s employment of production workers involved in the production of apparel in your establishment(s) in Haiti during the specified periods.

Value (in Haitian Gourde)
Item	Calendar years			January-June
	2004	2005	2006	2006	2007
Employment data:
Average number of production workers (number)	     	     	     	     	     
Hours worked by production workers (1,000 hours)	     	     	     	     	     
Wages paid to production workers (value, HTG)	     	     	     	     	     

Has your firm’s employment changed since the U.S. Haitian HOPE Act?

No Yes--Please describe these changes and explain whether you attribute them to the U.S. Haitian HOPE Act.

     

II-6. Production and shipments: Report your firm’s production, shipments, and inventories of apparel produced in your establishment(s) in Haiti during the specified periods. (See definitions in the instruction booklet.)

Quantity (in dozens) and value (in US dollars)
Item	Calendar years			January-June
	2004	2005	2006	2006	2007
HTS 6109 (t-shirts, singlets, tank tops and similar garments, knitted or crocheted)
Beginning-of-period inventories (quantity)	     	     	     	     	     
Production (quantity)	     	     	     	     	     
Home market shipments:
Quantity of shipments	     	     	     	     	     
Value of shipments	     	     	     	     	     
Export shipments:
To the United States:
Quantity of shipments	     	     	     	     	     
Value of shipments	     	     	     	     	     
To Other Export Markets:1
Quantity of shipments	     	     	     	     	     
Value of shipments	     	     	     	     	     
End-of-period inventories (quantity)	     	     	     	     	     
HTS 6110 (sweaters, pullovers, sweatshirts, waistcosts (vests) and similar articles, knitted or crocheted)
Beginning-of-period inventories (quantity)	     	     	     	     	     
Production (quantity)	     	     	     	     	     
Home market shipments:
Quantity of shipments	     	     	     	     	     
Value of shipments	     	     	     	     	     
Export shipments:
To the United States:
Quantity of shipments	     	     	     	     	     
Value of shipments	     	     	     	     	     
To Other Export Markets:1
Quantity of shipments	     	     	     	     	     
Value of shipments	     	     	     	     	     
End-of-period inventories (quantity)	     	     	     	     	     
Table continued on next page.

II-6. Production and shipments--Continued

Quantity (in dozens) and value (in US dollars)
Item	Calendar years			January-June
	2004	2005	2006	2006	2007
HTS 6203 (men’s or boys’ suits, ensembles, suit-type jackets, blazers, trousers, bib and brace overalls, breeches and shorts (other than swimwear))
Beginning-of-period inventories (quantity)	     	     	     	     	     
Production (quantity)	     	     	     	     	     
Home market shipments:
Quantity of shipments	     	     	     	     	     
Value of shipments	     	     	     	     	     
Export shipments:
To the United States:
Quantity of shipments	     	     	     	     	     
Value of shipments	     	     	     	     	     
To Other Export Markets:1
Quantity of shipments	     	     	     	     	     
Value of shipments	     	     	     	     	     
End-of-period inventories (quantity)	     	     	     	     	     
HTS 6105 (men’s or boys’ shirts, knitted or crocheted)
Beginning-of-period inventories (quantity)	     	     	     	     	     
Production (quantity)	     	     	     	     	     
Home market shipments:
Quantity of shipments	     	     	     	     	     
Value of shipments	     	     	     	     	     
Export shipments:
To the United States:
Quantity of shipments	     	     	     	     	     
Value of shipments	     	     	     	     	     
To Other Export Markets:
Quantity of shipments	     	     	     	     	     
Value of shipments	     	     	     	     	     
End-of-period inventories (quantity)	     	     	     	     	     
Table continued on next page.

II-6. Production and shipments--Continued

Quantity (in dozens) and value (in US dollars)
Item	Calendar years			January-June
	2004	2005	2006	2006	2007
HTS 6205 (men’s or boys’ shirts, not knitted or crocheted)
Beginning-of-period inventories (quantity)	     	     	     	     	     
Production (quantity)	     	     	     	     	     
Home market shipments:
Quantity of shipments	     	     	     	     	     
Value of shipments	     	     	     	     	     
Export shipments:
To the United States:
Quantity of shipments	     	     	     	     	     
Value of shipments	     	     	     	     	     
To Other Export Markets:1
Quantity of shipments	     	     	     	     	     
Value of shipments	     	     	     	     	     
End-of-period inventories (quantity)	     	     	     	     	     
HTS 6212.10 (brassieres)
Beginning-of-period inventories (quantity)	     	     	     	     	     
Production (quantity)	     	     	     	     	     
Home market shipments:
Quantity of shipments	     	     	     	     	     
Value of shipments	     	     	     	     	     
Export shipments:
To the United States:
Quantity of shipments	     	     	     	     	     
Value of shipments	     	     	     	     	     
To Other Export Markets:1
Quantity of shipments	     	     	     	     	     
Value of shipments	     	     	     	     	     
End-of-period inventories (quantity)	     	     	     	     	     
Table continued on next page.

II-6. Production and shipments--Continued

Quantity (in dozens) and value (in US dollars)
Item	Calendar years			January-June
	2004	2005	2006	2006	2007
All other apparel2 (i.e., apparel not reported above under the HTS subheadings: 6109, 6110, 6203, 6105, 6205, or 6212.20)
Beginning-of-period inventories (quantity)	     	     	     	     	     
Production (quantity)	     	     	     	     	     
Home market shipments:
Quantity of shipments	     	     	     	     	     
Value of shipments	     	     	     	     	     
Export shipments:
To the United States:
Quantity of shipments	     	     	     	     	     
Value of shipments	     	     	     	     	     
To Other Export Markets:1
Quantity of shipments	     	     	     	     	     
Value of shipments	     	     	     	     	     
End-of-period inventories (quantity)	     	     	     	     	     
1 Please identify your firm’s principle export markets other than the United States by product category: HTS 6109 (       ) HTS 6110 (       ) HTS 6203 (       ) HTS 6105 (       ) HTS 6205 (       ) HTS 6212.20 (       ) 2 Please describe the types of products included in this category and provide their corresponding 4-digit HTS subheadings. (       ) Note.-- Reconciliation of data.--Please note that the quantities reported above should reconcile as follows: beginning-of-period inventories, plus production, less total shipments, equals end-of-period inventories for each break-out. Do the data reported reconcile? Yes No--Please explain:       .

II-7. Production and shipment changes: Have your firm’s production and/or shipments of apparel changed since the enactment of the U.S. Haitian HOPE Act?

No Yes-- Please describe and quantify these changes.

     

II-8. Machinery: Please indicate whether your firm owns or leases the equipment used to produce apparel. (check all that apply)

Own Lease Provided free of charge by customer

If your firm does not own all of the equipment it uses in the production of apparel, please report below the name(s) and address(es) of the entity(ies) from which your firm leases equipment and/or from which your firm procured the equipment free of charge for use in contract assembly.

     

II-9. Raw material input decisions: Does your firm make its own raw material input sourcing decisions (i.e. does your firm purchase fabric from suppliers or producers directly)?

Yes No (If not, who does?       )

If your firm controls the sourcing decision for its raw material inputs, please describe how your firm sourced its raw material inputs both prior to and following the U.S. Haitian HOPE Act.

Prior to March 20, 2007      

Following March 20, 2007      

II-10 Raw material inputs:

(a) What was the share (by quantity) of fabric and other raw material inputs for each source out of the total (by quantity) fabric and other raw material inputs your firm sourced in the following two periods?

Source (see Instructions for definitions)	January to June 2006 (in percent)	January to June 2007 (in percent)
United States	     	     
CBTPA countries1	     	     
Countries with which the U.S. has an FTA1	     	     
AGOA countries	     	     
ATPA countries	     	     
Foreign sources	     	     
Total	100.0%	100.0%
1 For the purposes of this question, please group any CAFTA countries as CBTPA.

(b) Are fabric and other raw material produced in the United States and in other countries interchangeable with fabric and other raw materials produced elsewhere?

Yes No.--Please describe.

     

(c) Please rank the following characteristics of fabric in order of importance in your firm’s sourcing decisions (1= most important, 9 = least important, please check only one box per row and per column, i.e. please do not check number “1” for more than one characteristic).

Characteristic	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9
Price
Availability
Delivery time
Minimum quality requirements
Technical support
Extension of credit terms
Special characteristics of fabric
Other business relationships
Low transportation costs

II-11. Suppliers: Please identify below the names and addresses of your firm’s five (5) largest suppliers for the raw material inputs for the apparel your firm produces, i.e. fabric, trimmings, and fasteners in 2006?

No.	Supplier’s Name	Street address (not P.O. box), city, state, and zip code	Contact Person and e-mail address	Country code, area code and telephone number
1	     	     	     	     
2	     	     	     	     
3	     	     	     	     
4	     	     	     	     
5	     	     	     	     

II-12. Customers: Please identify below the names and addresses of your firm’s five (5) largest customers for apparel produced in Haiti in 2006.

No.	Customer’s Name	Street address (not P.O. box), city, state, and zip code	Contact Person and e-mail address	Country code, area code and telephone number
1	     	     	     	     
2	     	     	     	     
3	     	     	     	     
4	     	     	     	     
5	     	     	     	     

II-13. Security premiums: Please describe and quantify (to the extent possible) the security risks facing your firm’s operations in Haiti.

Security Risk (please list and describe) 1.      	Cost in 2006 (in Haitian Gourde)      
2.      	     
3.      	     
4.      	     

Has there been an improvement in the security situation of your firm’s operations in 2007?

No Yes (Please describe)

     

II-14. New Competition: Has your firm become aware of any new entrants to the Haitian apparel assembly industry (i.e. new apparel assembly firms) following the enactment of the U.S. Haitian HOPE Act in December 20, 2006?

No Yes (Please identify the new competition)

     

II-15. New Suppliers: Has your firm become aware of the establishment of any new suppliers of raw material inputs in Haiti following the enactment of the U.S. Haitian HOPE Act?

No Yes.--Please identify this firms below.

     

II-16. Competitors: Please indicate the companies and/or countries that are your firm’s leading competitors for apparel assembly contracts.

Firm name and location 1.      	Comparative strengths (please provide as much detail as possible as to the factors most frequently cited by your customers as to the reason or reasons for choosing an alternative supplier)      
2.      	     
3.      	     
4.      	     

II-17. Contracts: Please describe how your firm obtains business (contracts) for apparel production. Please include information on the typical terms of your firm’s apparel production contracts or arrangements.

     

II-18. New Contracts: Has the nature of your firm’s contracts, or business in general, changed as a result of the U.S. Haitian HOPE Act?

No Yes (Please describe and quantify these new or changed contracts or business arrangements, e.g. new customers, different contract terms, new product lines, different order size, et cetera.)

     

II-19. New Investment: Has your firm received either domestic or foreign investment (e.g., expanded production facility, purchase of new machinery, et cetera) as a result of the U.S. Haitian HOPE Act since December 20, 2006?

No Yes (Please describe and quantify these investments)

New Investments (please list and describe including the source of the investment) 1.      	Total Value in 2007 (in Haitian Gourde)      
2.      	     
3.      	     
4.      	     

II-20. Cost share: What share of your total production costs of apparel is represented by each of the following?

1. Labor	      percent
2. Plant and equipment	      percent
3. Raw material inputs	      percent
4. Security premiums	      percent
5. Other (specify:       )	      percent
6. Other (specify:       )	      percent
Total	100 percent

II-21. Debt: Is part of your plant and equipment financed through a loan?

No Yes (Please respond to the following)

1. What share of your plant and equipment is financed with debt?       percent

2. What is average rate of interest for your firm’s debt?       percent

3. If additional financing were available, what would you use it for?

     

II-22. Obstacles to Compliance: Please describe any obstacles or constraints facing your firm in terms of being able to receive trade benefits under the U.S. Haitian HOPE Act.