New trade policy of the US - Central America Free Trade Agreement: Is it a new opportunity or another threat to the US textile industry?

After the failure of NAFTA in the textile and apparel industry sectors, the United States is facing another challenge of new trade policy, the U. S. Central America Free Trade Agreement ( CAFTA). The US-CAFTA will significantly affect the survival of the remaining U. S. textile industry and the Central America's apparel manufacturing industry. Key to the survival is to develop capabilities of full-package production equipped with flexibility. We explored the possibilities of developing international collaboration to facilitate the development of fast and flexible supply chain networks between textile manufacturers in the United States, apparel manufacturers in Central America, and Asian fabric suppliers.