House votes to give Haiti textiles a boost

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The House on Wednesday approved trade breaks for Haiti’s textile industry, the latest of several actions aimed at helping the hemisphere’s poorest nation recover from a devastating earthquake.

The measure approved by a voice vote expands the kinds of textile products and apparel that Haiti can export to the United States duty-free.

It also nearly triples the levels under which certain knit and woven apparel products may receive duty-free treatment and extends through 2020 a trade program that had contributed to Haiti’s economic growth before the Jan. 12 earthquake that killed an estimated 230,000.

“Once the earthquake hit, it became clear that something needed to be done to help Haiti regain the footing that it had worked so hard to attain. This legislation does that,” said the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.)

Textiles and apparel are Haiti’s most important export to the United States, with apparel exports reaching $513 million last year.

Lawmakers stressed that they had crafted the bill so as to gain the support of the U.S. textile industry, which has been hard hit by foreign competition.

The American Manufacturing Trade Action Coalition, which represents the textile industry, said it was supporting the bill because, while providing Haiti with a path toward economic recovery, “it also takes into account various sensitivities from the perspective of the U.S. textile industry.”

-- Associated Press