WASHINGTON, January 16, 1998 -- Zanesville, Ohio, will soon be getting a new Tumbleweed Mexican restaurant, and Creative Packaging, Inc. will be expanding its operations thanks to the Community Adjustment and Investment Program -- a new Clinton Administration initiative to boost economies in communities with job losses as a result of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).
"This program exemplifies the Administration's commitment to helping rural communities that have suffered economic hardships attributable to NAFTA," Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman said. "This new partnership program is designed to spur economic growth and fuel community development and we at USDA are excited that we can contribute."
"Developing and launching the CAIP to help impacted communities is a mission USDA eagerly accepts," Glickman said. "Creating employment opportunities and putting people back to work is one of CAIP's main objectives."
CAIP operates in conjunction with local banks, the North American Development Bank (NADBank) and already existing USDA programs to deliver business financing. Through the CAIP, local lenders, such as First National Bank of Zanesville, provide the direct financing to businesses. USDA Rural Development provides a guarantee on that loan through its Business and Industry Program. The NADBank will contribute funds to USDA s Business & Industry Program to help fund the guarantee. NADBank is an international financial institution jointly capitalized and governed by the United States and Mexico to finance domestic investment in both countries. Approximately $20 million in NADBank funds have been earmarked for the CAIP.
"Last October USDA held a public meeting in Zanesville to inform the community about the CAIP, and here we are in January announcing two terrific successes," said Art Campbell, a Deputy Under Secretary for USDA Rural Development who was on hand for the Ohio announcement. "Thus far, USDA has guaranteed 10 loans nationwide through the CAIP and we have two of them here in Zanesville. I think that is a testament to the community s resilience."
The Tumbleweed restaurant features Tex-Mex and mesquite grilled items. The restaurant will create 60 new jobs. Creative Packaging manufactures corrugated packaging products of various sizes and shapes. Their expansion will double their warehouse and manufacturing facility and will create seven new jobs while retaining 35 existing jobs.