Caribbean leaders say that finance-starved Haiti will suffer significant economic stress following the expiration of a duty-free export scheme for local products to the US if Congress and the administration fail to renew the preferential program in the coming weeks.
The Hemispheric Opportunity through Partnership Enhancement for Haitian Prosperity (HOPE) and Haiti Economic Lift Program (HELP) acts allow Haitian manufacturers to export apparel and textiles to the US market largely duty-free. However, the agreement expired at the end of last month, leaving exporters exposed to significant tariff levies if the arrangements are not renewed.
Meeting virtually last week on various issues, including rising tensions in the South Caribbean linked to apparent US plans to attack Venezuela militarily, the leaders bemoaned the current state of play, pleading with the administration to pay attention to the issue and for Congress to act. However, it is unclear how Congress would tackle this issue with the House being out of session in the wake of the government shutdown and the congressional standoff between Democratic and Republican lawmakers currently in its third week.
“They noted that the preferential trade framework has been vital to Haiti’s economic and social development while supporting mutually beneficial trade and economic linkages between United States and Haitian businesses. Heads of government noted that the loss of this preferential arrangement negatively impacts business continuity, investment, and employment in Haiti and exacerbates the worsening economic and social situation at a time when the people of Haiti require greater international support,” the 15-nation bloc said in a statement this week.
Haiti is the bloc’s most populous member and the last to rejoin in 2002. It is usually treated as a special case because of decades of Western-supported military interventions, military coups, and other forms of upheavals inspired mainly by the US and France, Haiti’s former colonial occupier.
The country is currently in the midst of efforts to suppress and fight off heavily armed gangs terrorizing citizens in the capital and related areas. This situation has flourished especially since the July 2021 assassination of President Jovenel Moise. The result is that no more elected representatives in most of the country are available to serve. A transitional government that regional leaders helped broker last year is trying to arrange for fresh elections next year. However, given the current state of turmoil, it is unclear whether this will be achieved.
Still, regional leaders want the US to help its member states.
“They noted that the preferential trade framework has been vital to Haiti’s economic and social development while supporting mutually beneficial trade and economic linkages between United States and Haitian businesses. The conference of heads of government, therefore, expresses its strong support for the renewal of HOPE/HELP legislation and urges the US administration and the US Congress to take urgent steps to move the legislation forward and restore the HOPE/HELP programs, which provide duty-free treatment in the United States,” the statement noted.
