23238: (Hermantin) Miami-Herald-Aid for Haitian textile trade faces opposition (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: leonie hermantin <lhermantin@hotmail.com>

Posted on Thu, Sep. 23, 2004




THE ECONOMY


Aid for Haitian textile trade faces opposition

Key lawmakers expressed doubts over labor provisions in a bill giving
Haitian textile manufacturers better access to the U.S. market.

BY PABLO BACHELET

pbachelet@herald.com


WASHINGTON - A bill that would give Haitian textile manufacturers duty-free
access to the U.S. market ran into opposition in the House of
Representatives on Wednesday, with Democrats and labor and industry groups
voicing reservations over its benefits, especially its labor provisions.

''We can't just hire human beings for the least amount of money,'' said
Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., during a hearing on the bill in the House Ways and
Means Committee.

Haiti has signed the International Labor Organization convention that
guarantees rights for workers, but Rangel said that was not enough. ``Nobody
should be impressed with . . . [ILO] standards. That's a minimum.''

The objections could mean delays for the House bill just 100 days before the
U.S. government is scheduled to eliminate import quotas affecting Chinese
producers, potentially enticing producers to relocate from Haiti and other
Caribbean nations to the Far East.

The bill would grant duty-free entry to the United States for apparel
articles assembled in Haiti. Sen. Mike DeWine, R-Ohio, told the Committee
that it was in the U.S. national interest to support Haiti, which has seen
U.S. troops intervene twice in the last decade to quell political violence .

But House Democrats in the past have objected to trade bills with Latin
American nations on the basis of labor rights and have succeeded in delaying
congressional ratification of the Central American Free Trade Agreement.

The Haiti legislation is considered crucial to helping the textile industry
in the country. The Senate has already approved its version of the bill,
which conditions the benefits to a U.S. presidential certification that the
Haitian government is making progress in political, economic and social
reforms, including labor rights.

One labor group argued that the presidential certification requirement was
too vague. Mark Levinson, chief economist for Unite Here, a union of 450,000
textile-related workers, said it was ''unlikely'' that the requirement would
work unless ''it is supported by a mechanism that specifically addresses the
severe obstacles'' to workers' rights in Haiti.

Despite their objections, Democratic lawmakers said they hoped to reach a
compromise with their Senate colleagues.

Sen. Bob Graham, D-Fla, who supports the legislation, hoped the differences
could be reconciled before the current congressional term ends early next
year. ''If we don't make it this year, we could be another six, 12, 18
months before we provide not only this very significant stimulus to the
[Haitian] economy, but a signal that people . . . wish to reach and help the
people of Haiti,'' he said.

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