In December 2006, the 109 th Congress passed the Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity through Partnership Encouragement Act of 2006 (HOPE I) to assist Haiti with expanding its apparel trade as a way to help stimulate economic growth and employment. The act included special rules for the duty-free treatment of select U.S. apparel imports from Haiti, particularly those made from less expensive third-country inputs, provided Haiti met rules of origin and eligibility criteria that require making progress on worker rights, poverty reduction, and anti-corruption measures. HOPE II extended the preferences for 10 years, expanded coverage of duty-free treatment to more apparel products, and simplified the rules of origin to make them easier to use. The act also included a new requirement to ensure that participating apparel firms comply with internationally recognized core labor standards and submit to regular inspection by the United Nations International Labor Organization (ILO). The Haiti Economic Lift Program (HELP) Act of 2010 ( P.L. The HELP Act extended the Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act (CBTPA) and the HOPE Act through September 30, 2020. Effects and Implications of the 2010 Earthquake

The earthquake that rocked Haiti on January 12, 2010, did untold damage to the country, including a significant loss of life and property. Estimates of rebuilding costs for the industry have risen to $38 million to refurbish damaged buildings, replace machinery, and train new employees, among other costs. Congress took one important step by modifying HOPE Act tariff preferences and rules of origin to further enhance U.S. market access for Haitian apparel exports. HOPE II

Because early assessments of the effectiveness of HOPE I were critical of its progress in stimulating foreign investment in the apparel sector, and given that Haiti's economic and social conditions were deteriorating rapidly in early 2008, the 110 th Congress amended the HOPE Act with passage of the Hemispheric Opportunity through Partnership Encouragement Act of 2008. The addition of a new uncapped "3-for-1" earned import allowance (EIA). HOPE II also amended the eligibility requirements by requiring Haiti to create a new independent Labor Ombudsman's Office and to establish the Technical Assistance Improvement and Compliance Needs Assessment and Remediation (TAICNAR) Program within 16 months of enactment of the legislation. Haitian apparel producers lobbied for specific changes including extending the program to 2028, increasing the TPLs for knits and fabrics, reducing the value-added rule to 50% for five years, reducing the earned income allowance from 3-to-1 to 1-for-1, and expanding the apparel and non-apparel items that would be eligible for duty-free treatment. Woven TPL Rule Increased

HOPE II expanded the woven apparel TPL to 70 million SMEs. Transshipment and Customs Provisions Amended

The HELP Act requires U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to verify that apparel articles imported under the TPLs are not transshipped illegally into the United States. CBP is also to evaluate Haiti's customs requirements and set out a plan to improve their capabilities. Two important considerations guided congressional action in addition to a broad-based concern over Haiti's economic and social problems. First, legislation appeared to focus on enhancing those preference rules that have so far shown the most promise for promoting investment, production, and apparel exports. Second, Congress, in amending the preference rules, openly considered the possible negative effects on U.S. producers and workers. In so doing, Congress sought to achieve a policy coherence that attempts to balance domestic and foreign policy considerations.
In December 2006, the 109th Congress passed the Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity through Partnership Encouragement Act of 2006 (HOPE I), which included special trade rules that give preferential access to U.S. imports of Haitian apparel. These rules were intended to promote investment in the apparel industry as one element of a broader economic growth and development plan. HOPE I allowed for the duty-free treatment of select apparel imports from Haiti made from less expensive third-country inputs (e.g., non-regional yarns, fabrics, and components), provided Haiti met rules of origin and eligibility criteria that required making progress on worker rights, poverty reduction, and anti-corruption measures. Early assessments of the effectiveness of HOPE I, however, were disappointing. The 110th Congress responded by amending HOPE I with the Hemispheric Opportunity through Partnership Encouragement Act of 2008 (HOPE II). HOPE II extended the preferences for 10 years, expanded coverage of duty-free treatment to more apparel products, particularly knit articles, and simplified the rules, making them easier to use. Early evidence suggests that apparel production and exports are responding to these changes.
HOPE II also amended the eligibility requirements by requiring Haiti to create a new independent Labor Ombudsman's Office and establish the Technical Assistance Improvement and Compliance Needs Assessment and Remediation (TAICNAR) Program. The TAICNAR program provides for the United Nations International Labor Organization (ILO) to operate a firm-level inspection and monitoring program to help Haitian apparel factories comply with meeting core labor standards, Haitian labor laws, and occupational health and safety rules. It would apply to those firms that agree to register for the program as a prerequisite for utilizing the tariff preferences. The TAICNAR program is also designed to help Haiti develop its own capacity to monitor compliance of apparel producers in meeting core labor standards.
The earthquake that rocked Haiti on January 12, 2010 caused considerable damage to the apparel sector, although much has been done to return capacity to pre-earthquake levels. Rebuilding costs for the industry are estimated at $38 million to refurbish damaged buildings, replace machinery, and train new employees. The U.S. Congress responded to the apparel industry's needs by amending the HOPE Act with the Haiti Economic Lift Program (HELP) Act of 2010 (P.L. 111-171), which improves U.S. market access for Haitian apparel exports. Two important considerations guided congressional action in addition to a broad-based concern over Haiti's economic and social problems. First, legislation appeared to focus on enhancing those preference rules that have so far shown the most promise for promoting investment, production, and apparel exports. Second, Congress factored in the possibility of negative effects on U.S. producers and workers, and in so doing sought a policy coherence that attempts to balance domestic and foreign policy considerations.
The HELP Act made a number of major changes to the trade preferences including extending the Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act (CBTPA) and the HOPE Act through September 30, 2020; allowing the value-added rule to remain at 50% through 2015; increasing the woven tariff preference level (TPL) to 200 million square meter equivalents (SMEs), with many exclusions to accommodate U.S. industry; expanding the knit TPL similarly; reducing the 3-for-1 earned import credit to 2-for-1; and expanding the list of products eligible for duty-free treatment under special assembly rules. The HELP Act requires U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) to verify that apparel articles imported under the TPLs are not transshipped illegally into the United States, and to develop a plan to evaluate and improve Haiti's customs capabilities.