Cheap bling for everyone at the expense the malnourished human resource investment of the south. Despicable. 

FROM Jamaica Observer
WASHINGTON, USA — The United States House of Representatives yesterday took a major step in boosting employment opportunities in earthquake-stricken Haiti by overwhelmingly passing a bill that would extend the French-speaking Caribbean country's trade preferences.

The bill, which now goes to the Senate, could be signed into law by President Barack Obama as soon as next week, legislators and political observers here say.

“Once the earthquake hit, it become clear that something needed to be done to help Haiti regain the footing that it had worked so hard to attain,” said Charles Rangel, a strong advocate for the Caribbean, who had pushed for the trade deal.

The measure would give Haiti greater access to the US clothing market, for woven and knit fabrics, and extend the life of its current duty-free access, tripling Haitian exports.

Additionally, it would extend duty-free access for most of the clothes Haiti sells in the US under the Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act (CBTPA) and the special programme for Haiti, known as the Hemispheric Opportunity through Partnership Act (HOPE).

US and Haitian officials say the clothing sector accounts for 75 per cent of the impoverished Caribbean country’s export earnings, employing more than 25,000 people before the catastrophic quake that killed an estimated 300,000 and left 1.3 million homeless.

Haitian President René Préval welcomed the initiative, as well as former US Presidents George W Bush and Bill Clinton, who last month wrote key legislators asking them to support the bill.

“This important step responds to the needs of the Haitian people for more tools to lift themselves from poverty, while standing to benefit U.S. consumers,” said the former presidents in a joint statement on yesterday.

They have been collaborating on the Bush-Clinton Fund, named after them, raising much-needed funds to help Haiti recover in the wake of the January 12 devastating earthquake.

The bill’s Senate sponsors, Montana Democratic Senator Max Baucus, chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, and Iowa Republican senator Chuck Grassley hailed the House vote, urging “swift passage” in the Senate.

“Our bill is a common-sense approach that will provide sustainable, long-term assistance to help Haiti get back on its feet by improving US market access for Haitian textiles,” Baucus said.



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