14966: Hermantin: Sun-Sentinel-Legislators craft Haiti trade bill (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Legislators craft Haiti trade bill
By William E. Gibson
Washington Bureau Chief

February 28, 2003

WASHINGTON · Anxious to help Haiti pull itself out of poverty and prevent
dangerous migrations to Florida, a powerful coalition in Congress unveiled
legislation on Thursday that would give the island a special break on
clothing exports.

The bill would allow Haitians to assemble clothing and send it to the United
States duty free, if the fabric is made from countries with preferential
trade agreements with the United States. Currently, Haiti and other apparel
exporters must use American-made fabric.

The legislation would give Haiti a slight advantage over other U.S. trading
partners in the Caribbean, mostly because of its sheer poverty and
desperation. It would put Haiti more in line with trade preferences granted
to some of the poorest nations of Africa.

"This is a country where children are starving," Sen. Mike DeWine, R-Ohio,
told reporters at the Capitol. "This would not take American jobs away," he
said. "These are low-end jobs."

The bill would limit duty-free Haitian goods to 1.5 percent of all U.S.
apparel imports, growing to 3.5 percent over time. The White House must
certify to Congress that Haiti is establishing political reforms and the
rule of law.

Florida has an especially close relationship with Haiti and stands to gain
from expanded trade. Rep. Kendrick Meek, D-Miami, noted: "In my district,
many of my constituents send money back home to Haiti to help families make
ends meet, and sometimes they have to cut back on their own spending here in
the United States."

Haiti traded $572.3 million worth of goods through South Florida seaports
and airports in 2001. That's down 14 percent from the previous year, as
political strife hurt business and exports.

"This [legislation] would create thousands of jobs over the next few years
in Haiti," predicted Rudolph Moise, chairman of Haitian Affairs for the
Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce.

"Those who are economic refugees will probably remain in Haiti if they can
get employment," he said. "For every person employed, that person helps 10
other people in Haiti."

Haiti's minimum wage is $1 a day, and 80 percent of its people live in
poverty. Its many problems were compounded when international donors froze
$500 million in aid because of suspected fraud and political oppression.

"They've first got to show some political and economic stability in that
country before they are going to get the bank loans," said Sen. Bill Nelson,
D-Fla. "And that means stopping the kind of political repression that has
been going on there."

Senior members of both parties in Congress nevertheless said they must move
forward to help Haiti help itself.

"Before you can build a democracy, you have to build an economy," said Rep.
Clay Shaw, R-Fort Lauderdale. "There is no economy. People have no reason to
live. The only objective is to escape, and the only escape is into South
Florida. If we are going to continue to enforce our immigration laws, we
need to do what we can to unleash in a small way the power of the largest
economy of the world to help these folks."

Staff writers Madeline Baro and Doreen Hemlock contributed to this report.
William E. Gibson can be reached at wgibson@sun-sentinel.com or 202-824-8256
in Washington.


Copyright © 2003, South Florida Sun-Sentinel


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