American legislators pass Haiti trade bill

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Jamaica Observer

American legislators pass Haiti trade bill
CMC
Thursday, May 06, 2010

WASHINGTON, USA — The United States House of Representatives yesterday took a major step in boosting employment opportunities in earthquake-stricken Haiti by overwhelmingly passing a bill that would extend the French-speaking Caribbean country's trade preferences.

The bill, which now goes to the Senate, could be signed into law by President Barack Obama as soon as next week, legislators and political observers here say.

“Once the earthquake hit, it become clear that something needed to be done to help Haiti regain the footing that it had worked so hard to attain,” said Charles Rangel, a strong advocate for the Caribbean, who had pushed for the trade deal.

The measure would give Haiti greater access to the US clothing market, for woven and knit fabrics, and extend the life of its current duty-free access, tripling Haitian exports.


Read more: http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/American-legislators-pass-Haiti-trade-bill

[harkadog]

1. Yet one more avenue for American jobs to be shipped out.

It is great to help Haiti's unemployment rate but I think we should do something with ours first.

[proudohioan]

3. I feel the same way, harkadog....

I know that the earthquake devastated Haiti, and I hate to sound like a heartless bastard, but damn, when do we start taking care of our own? While the media focused 'round the clock on the earthquake, a quieter tragedy was happening right here in North Dakota, involving the Cheyenne River Sioux. The only peep I heard about that on MSM was on Keith Olbermann's show.

And as far as jobs go, how about a true jobs program here?

[Dappleganger]

9. +1000 on the jobs program

[OhioChick]

7. +1 n/t

[gmpierce]

2. american jobs ?

Chances are pretty good that the "American jobs" were shipped out a long time ago. The question in my mind is what international companies will control the Hatian clothing business and will the Hatians get more than 50 cents a day for working in their own country's industry.

And when they get predictably screwed, will anyone remember to give credit to Charles Rangel. the man who 'made it all possible'.

[Arctic Dave]

4. Agreed. If they are going to do this , they should make part of the

agreement that they get a living wage and can unionize.

[SocialistLez]

5. +1 NT

[Judi Lynn]

6. American owned companies have been exploiting the cheap labor there for decades.

Many people have already been well aware of the Disney's exploitation of Haitian poverty to create clothes for American children:

Haiti
by Anup Shah
Last Updated Monday, February 01, 2010

Consider the following situation that Haiti is in:

•Haiti is the third hungriest country in the world after Somalia and Afghanistan
•The richest 1% of the population controls nearly half of all of Haiti’s wealth
•The poorest country in the western hemisphere
•One of the poorest countries in the world
•Ranks 149 out of 182 on the United Nations Human Development Index
•Has a healthy life expectancy of 55 years for women and 53 years for men
•Adult literacy is about 62%
•78% of Haitians live on less than $2 US per day.

~snip~
The United States is Haiti’s main commercial “partner” accounting for about 60% of the flows of exports and imports. Along with the manufacture of baseballs, textiles, cheap electronics, and toys, Haiti’s sugar, bauxite and sisal are all controlled by American corporations. Disney, for example, has used Haitian sweatshops to produce Pocahontas pajamas, among other items, at the rate of 11 cents per hour. Most Haitians are willing to work for almost nothing.

— David Cromwell and David Edwards, Bringing Hell To Haiti — Part 1, MediaLens, March 1, 2004
http://www.globalissues.org/article/141/haiti

[elehhhhna]

8. ELeven CENTS an hour? The whole world should strike over that shit.