Business investment and exports were to take the lead, but investment has failed to take off and exports have been countered by import competition.

In general, manufacturing workers are most affected by import competition compare to workers in other sectors.

For instance, some occupations, like teacher, have not experienced import competition while for shoe manufacturing occupations import competition has increased by 40 percentage points.

Import competition impacts negatively not only dislocated workers but also their families and communities.

The increased import competition since 1991 with the trade liberalization in place have widely contributed to the reduced manufacturing competition with a cheaper agricultural raw materials and the fabric industry.