Biennial Report on the Operation of the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act

On December 20, 2023, the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative released the Fifteenth Biennial Report on the Operation of the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act.

The Caribbean Basin Initiative is a series of trade programs designed to facilitate the development of stable economies in the Caribbean. It was launched in 1983 with the passage of the CBERA and substantially expanded in 2000 with the CBTPA and later with the Trade Act of 2002. The HOPE Act, the HOPE II Act of 2008, and the HELP Act provided additional benefits for textile and apparel products from Haiti. As of 2023, the CBI provides 17 countries and dependent territories with duty-free access to the U.S. market for most goods. The CBI was initially envisioned as a program to facilitate economic development, increase production, and export diversification of the Caribbean Basin economies. After more than three decades, it is clear that CBI has also established a framework for engagement with the region in a number of trade policy areas and led to meaningful outcomes for the United States and its trading partners in the Caribbean and Central America.

Haiti

Textile and apparel exports account for over 90 percent of Haitian exports of goods to the United States, entering duty free under the CBTPA, HOPE and HOPE II programs. Overall, United States textile and apparel imports from Haiti remained relatively steady throughout 2022, with nearly $1 billion in imports from the sector. These apparel items enter the United States duty free under CBTPA and the Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity through Partnership Encouragement Act of 2006 (HOPE). CBTPA represents about one-third of these duty-free items. The preferences under HOPE, the Haiti Economic Lift Program (HELP), and CBTPA are the cornerstone of Haiti’s textile sector, which accounts for 80 percent of Haiti's exports and employed over 43,000 Haitians at the end of calendar year 2020. Natural disasters, strikes, fuel shortages, and prolonged insecurity have disrupted manufacturers’ operation and resulted in job cuts affecting just over 38,000 employees at the end of calendar year 2023. The legislation also ensures the fair treatment of workers through a monitoring program, Better Work Haiti, funded by the U.S. Department of Labor.

Read the full report HERE