Political Quotes

“today I am pleased to introduce legislation to help encourage Haitian economic development, by promoting U.S.- Haitian trade and investment. The legislation, the Renewing Hope for Haitian Trade and Investment Act of 2010, would in part renew provisions of U.S. trade law that are currently scheduled to expire and which have been critical to the growth of the Haitian apparel sector, which sustains tens of thousands of jobs in Haiti. Apparel is a core industry sector in Haiti, accounting for an estimated 25,000 jobs and 75-80 percent of Haiti's export earnings. The devastating January 12 earthquake in Haiti caused widespread damage to the industry. The damage has caused transportation and assembly production bottlenecks, and compounded existing challenges such as lack of industrial space, poor road and port conditions, unreliable electricity, and the high cost of capital. As of January 2010, Haiti's apparel industry is reportedly running at 50 percent of capacity as a result of the earthquake. Producers hope to increase production to 70 percent of capacity in the next 4-6 weeks, depending on improvements to electricity and water supplies. Most apparel imports from Haiti come into the U.S. free of duties, because of provisions in the Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act, CBTPA. Unfortunately, these provisions expire in September of this year.”