TITLE
RESOLUTION URGING CONGRESS TO AMEND THE HOPE ACT AND RELATED INITIATIVES TO FURTHER EXPAND TEXTILE AND APPAREL TRADE BETWEEN HAITI AND THE U.S.; URGING THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO FULLY FUND TRADE PREFERENCE INITIATIVES RELATED TO HAITI

BODY
WHEREAS, Haiti has long been the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere even though it lies only six hundred miles from the U.S.; and
WHEREAS, Haiti's per capita gross domestic product is 40 percent (40%) lower than that of Nicaragua, which is the hemisphere's next-poorest country; and
WHEREAS, Haiti's economy is in dire fiscal straits, with an estimated one-quarter of the economy, or $800 million a year, consisting of money sent home by overseas Haitians; and
WHEREAS, on December 20th, 2006, the President signed into law the Haitian Hemisphere Opportunity through Partnership Encouragement (HOPE) Act of 2006; and
WHEREAS, the HOPE Act amends the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act to provide for five one-year periods of duty-free treatment for apparel articles wholly assembled or knit-to-shape in Haiti; and
WHEREAS, the HOPE Act directs the Bureau of Customs and Border Protection of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to provide for import compliance and grants five-year duty-free treatment to complying wire harness automotive components imported from Haiti; and
WHEREAS, the intent of Congress in passing the HOPE Act was to expand the textile and apparel trade between Haiti and the United States; and
WHEREAS, the HOPE Act as ultimately passed and implemented has not produced the types of jobs and investment originally envisioned,
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE BOARD OF COUNTY COMMISSIONERS OF MIAMI-DADE COUNTY, FLORIDA, that this Board:
Section 1. Urges Congress to amend the HOPE Act and related initiatives to further expand textile and apparel trade between Haiti and the United States.
Section 2. Urges the U.S. Trade Representative, Department of State, Department of Commerce and related agencies to fully fund trade preference initiatives related to Haiti.
Section 3. Directs the Clerk of the Board to transmit a certified copy of this resolution to the members of the Miami-Dade County Congressional Delegation.
Section 4. Directs the County's federal lobbying team to advocate for the passage of the legislation set forth in Sections 1 and 2 above; and directs the Office of Intergovernmental Affairs to include this item in the 2008 Federal Legislative Package.