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Factors Affecting The Manufacturing Industry Of Ecuador

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Artisan activity constituted a large part of the manufacturing labor force. Although many of the artisans had considerable skills in such occupations as weaving, their wages were among the lowest in the labor force, and as machine-weaving became more widespread their skills were increasingly obsolete. In the 1980s, the government offered special credits “FACTORS AFFECTING THE EMPLOYMENT IN MANUFACTURING INDUSTRY OF ECUADOR” 11 and loans to encourage a transition from artisan workshops to small factories. The largest number of artisans produced clothing and furniture. This group included dressmakers, tailors, shoemakers, cabinetmakers, and carpenters. Several thousand additional artisans were goldsmiths or silversmiths. Ecuador 's industrial sector, historically oriented to producing for the domestic market, is beginning to look beyond its own borders. Throughout the 1990s, Ecuador made numerous reforms in an effort to make its economy more competitive. These modernization and market-oriented structural reforms continue today and are showing promise. One such reform came in the passage of the FTZ law in 1991. Five free trade zones have since been established. The FTZ law allows companies to import raw materials and machinery duty-free and export semi-processed and finished merchandise duty-free. Furthermore, all business transactions and contracts undertaken by companies engaged in industrial or commercial activities within an FTZ are exempt from taxes. Manufactured exports

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