US imports under CBI rose to $1.2 bn in 2020 from $1.1 bn in 2019

Haiti’s apparel exports to the United States maintain one of the highest utilization rates of CBI preferences. Approximately 95 per cent of Haitian exports to the United States are apparel exports.

Private sector associations estimate that, thanks to the CBI preference programs, over 54,000 garment factory jobs have been created in Haiti as of the end of calendar year 2020.

The Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR) recently presented to Congress the fourteenth biannual report on the Operation of the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (CBERA). The report is statutorily mandated by Congress and describes the main features of the programme, analyses trade trends and outlies each country’s performance related to eligibility criteria.

“The Biden-Harris Administration strongly supports CBERA, which encourages the development of strong democratic governments and builds economic ties with our valued trading partners in the Caribbean region,” said deputy USTR Jayme White.

“The programme provides opportunities for economic recovery and inclusive trade, and USTR is committed to encouraging its greater use by beneficiary countries,” she said in an official release.

The CBI continues to have a positive impact on a number of Caribbean Basin economies, including encouraging the development of niche product manufacturing, such as polystyrene from The Bahamas and fruit juice from Belize.

The last edition of this report published in 2019 included data on rates of utilisation of the programme by beneficiary countries. Several products that were not claiming the duty-free benefit were mentioned.

There have been notable improvements since then, including an increase in utilisation from one third to 100 per cent of plastic household goods from The Bahamas and an increase from 4 per cent to 100 per cent of measuring instruments from St. Kitts and Nevis.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)