21035: Esser: Senate Floor Statement: Haiti Economic Recovery Opportunity Act (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: D. Esser torx@joimail.com

Speech of Senator DeWine
http://dewine.senate.gov

March 30, 2004

FLOOR STATEMENT: HAITI ECONOMIC RECOVERY OPPORTUNITY ACT OF 2004

Today we have an opportunity to reach out to the least developed
country in the Western Hemisphere -- we have an opportunity to reach
out to the island nation of Haiti.

I am pleased to join Senators Graham of Florida, Lugar, Baucus,
Chafee, Dodd, Voinovich, and Nelson of Florida in introducing the
"Haiti Economic Opportunity Act of 2004." I also would like to thank
Representative Shaw, as well as our other House co-sponsors, for
their support of this bill.

Our bill would use trade incentives to encourage the post-Aristide
government to make much needed reforms, while encouraging foreign
direct investment -- the most powerful, and yet underutilized, tool
of development. The bill’s provisions apply the least developed
country provisions of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA)
to Haiti -- the least developed country in our Hemisphere.

Specifically, our bill would provide duty-free entry to apparel
articles assembled in Haiti contingent upon Presidential
certification that the new government is making significant
political, economic, and social reforms. The bill also caps the
amount of duty-free articles at 1.5 percent of the total amount of
U.S. apparel imports, growing to 3.5 percent over seven years.
Currently, Haiti accounts for less than one half of one percent of
all U.S. apparel imports, and although these provisions seem modest
by U.S. standards, in Haiti they are substantial.

The enactment of this legislation would promote employment in Haitian
industry by allowing Haiti to become a garment production center
again. Haiti has a labor advantage that makes it competitive compared
to other countries in the region, and at one time several years ago,
over 100,000 people were employed in assembly jobs. Now, that number
stands at just 30,000, and regional and global economic conditions
are quickly converging to eliminate any chance of Haiti
re-establishing a foothold in the garment production market.

Our window of opportunity to act expires at the end of the year, when
quotas are phased out of the global market for textiles and apparel,
and countries, such as China, are allowed to fully enter the market.
In addition, Haiti has been largely left out of the Central American
Free Trade Agreement negotiations, gaining only small concessions for
co-production with the Dominican Republic. These concessions are
necessary, but far from sufficient for creating jobs.

I have traveled to Haiti 13 times, and there is no doubt that Haiti
needs this opportunity. No other nation in our hemisphere is as
impoverished. Today, at least 80 percent of all Haitians live in
abject poverty, with at least 80 percent under- or unemployed. Per
capita annual income is less than $400.

No other nation in our hemisphere has a higher rate of HIV/AIDS.
Today, AIDS is the number one cause of all adult deaths in Haiti,
killing at least 30,000 Haitians annually and orphaning 200,000
children.

No other nation in our hemisphere has a higher infant mortality rate
or a lower life expectancy rate.

And, no other nation in our hemisphere is as environmentally
strapped. Haiti is an ecological disaster, with a 98 percent
deforestation level and extreme topsoil erosion.

Despite this, U.S. assistance has reached its lowest level in over a
decade. This needs to change. Haiti is in our backyard, inexorably
linked to the United States by history, geography, humanitarian
concerns, the illicit drug trade, and the ever-present possibility of
waves of incoming refugees. Haiti’s problems are our problems.

In an environment such as this, foreign assistance is not enough to
create economic opportunities, promote development, and reverse these
dire conditions. Economic development is the answer, bringing with it
lower unemployment, increased infrastructure development, and
spillover effects for the rest of Haiti’s population.

This bill is not the "silver bullet" for Haiti, because there is no
silver bullet. Rebuilding Haiti is going to require time, attention,
and determination on the part of the people of Haiti, the countries
in the region, and ultimately the entire international community.
This bill would be a powerful indicator that Haiti has the support
necessary to move forward. I encourage all of my colleagues to
co-sponsor this important piece of legislation.
.