Reaffirming the Economic Partnership Between the United States and the Caribbean Nations and Recognizing the Need to Strengthen Trade and Investment Between the United States and the Caribbean Nations, Our ``Third Border''

Floor Speech

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Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 1168) reaffirming the economic partnership between the United States and the Caribbean nations and recognizing the need to strengthen trade and investment between the United States and the Caribbean nations, our ``Third Border'', as amended.

The Clerk read the title of the resolution.

The text of the resolution is as follows: H. RES. 1168

Whereas Congress commits to strengthening economic ties and cooperation with the Caribbean people to promote equitable economic growth and development across the region;

Whereas the Caribbean region has a population of approximately 44,000,000 people, millions of people have emigrated between the Caribbean and the United States, and approximately 13,000,000 people in the United States, or 4 percent of the United States population, share Caribbean ancestry;

Whereas it is in the national interest of the United States to support the economic development of sovereign Caribbean nations and territories;

Whereas greater opportunities for mutually beneficial trade and investments promote economic growth, development, poverty reduction, democracy, the rule of law, civil rights, and overall stability;

Whereas regional and global integration with our Caribbean neighbors should be strengthened to create decent jobs, boost economic growth in the Caribbean and the United States, and eliminate barriers to trade and investment in the Caribbean;

Whereas it remains the goal of the United States to support diversification of Caribbean exports to the United States;

Whereas, in 1983, Congress launched the Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI) through the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (CBERA) and expanded it in 2000 with the United States-Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act (CBTPA);

Whereas the United States shares a history of struggle with Caribbean neighbor countries, including with our courageous sister nation of Haiti;

Whereas Haiti suffered destabilizing events in 2021, including severe insecurity, a deadly earthquake, widespread democratic protests, continuation of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the assassination of President Jovenel Moise, all of which have contributed to a governance and humanitarian crisis that requires immediate further attention and support from the United States and the global community;

Whereas specialized United States trade preferences with Haiti, including the Haiti Economic Lift Program (HELP) and Hemispheric Opportunity through Partnership Encouragement Act (HOPE II) programs, aid Haiti's growing textile and apparel manufacturing industry and are a critical source of steady jobs for many Haitian people to support their families;

Whereas trade preference programs for the Caribbean and Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries, such as the Generalized System of Preferences, CBI, and CBTPA have provided important economic benefits for Caribbean Basin country economies, including by facilitating niche production and more diversified exports, while also benefitting United States businesses and workers, including by helping to add value for customers and supporting United States jobs;

Whereas Caribbean people and their island nation economies have led globally by exploring innovative economic strategies to produce collective benefits for their communities, such as through the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility, to reduce the economic impact of major disasters;

Whereas the United States seeks to prioritize and promote a worker-centered trade agenda that facilitates trade and protects freedom of association, fosters a sustainable environment and climate path, advances racial equity and supports underserved communities, addresses unfair economic trade practices, supports domestic producers, and promotes growth and development around the world;

Whereas the COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted the public health and economies of the Caribbean and the United States, which has also contributed to inequality within and between nations, and further excluded vulnerable groups from the benefits of trade and economic development;

Whereas the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need to strengthen supply chain resilience and increase near-shoring in global trade;

Whereas the United States believes that free and fair trade practices, economic growth, and stable domestic employment foster democratic principles of good governance;

Whereas United States and Caribbean economic ties, including through Caribbean services and manufacturing sectors, produce critical goods and services for consumers and jobs for workers that strengthen their economies;

Whereas such economic ties serve strategic purposes by providing an alternative to potentially predatory economic practices of other foreign governments, including non-market economies, in the Caribbean that harm national and regional interests in the Western Hemisphere;

Whereas climate change and natural disasters pose acute risks for Caribbean people and island economies; and

Whereas the United States signed a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement in 2013 with CARICOM to drive strengthened trade and investment ties between CARICOM and the United States: Now, therefore, be it

Resolved, That the House of Representatives--

(1) urges the President to prioritize and implement trade programs with the Caribbean region that promote sustainable and resilient economic development;

(2) commits to engaging directly with diverse stakeholders from the Caribbean, including CARICOM Trade Ministers, policymakers, as well as labor, business, and civil society representatives, to dialogue and develop a shared multilateral trade agenda;

(3) affirms trade and tariff preference programs that strengthen the economic relationship between the Caribbean and the United States and produce economic benefits for people of all racial, ethnic, gender, ability, economic, linguistic, and religious backgrounds;

(4) encourages further enhancing trade programs between the Caribbean and the United States; and

(5) supports critical trade policies and preference programs, such as HELP and HOPE II, and further commits to strengthen those policies to ensure they advance sustainable economic development, produce positive economic benefits in Haiti, the Caribbean, and the United States, and protect our most vulnerable communities.

Mr. Speaker, let me begin by commending my colleagues on both sides of the aisle, Representatives Wenstrup, Sewell, and Blumenauer, and indeed the membership of the Ways and Means Committee collectively, for joining me in support of U.S. trade and economic relations with our Caribbean neighbors.

This resolution is the product of a year's worth of work, and today would not be possible without the bipartisan support of my colleagues from across the aisle, particularly Representative Wenstrup, and his leadership, and our shared commitment to a focus on U.S. trade engagement with the Caribbean.

This resolution commits to enhance the economic partnership between the United States and the Caribbean region through strengthened trade engagement, including by promoting economic growth and development across the region, engaging directly with diverse stakeholders from the Caribbean, and supporting critical trade policies and preference programs.

The Caribbean, along with Latin America, has experienced significant challenges in recent years. According to the International Monetary Fund, IMF, we have seen a larger GDP contraction from the region than any other place in the world. Simultaneously, per capita deaths from COVID have been greater from the Caribbean and Latin America than any other region in the world. Furthermore, many of the islands and countries in the Caribbean have also experienced severe natural disasters, such as the recent earthquake in Haiti and numerous other extreme weather events like hurricanes.

So this resolution simply expresses support for furthering U.S. trade ties and economic relations with the Caribbean region. Overall, the resolution expresses the importance of the existing economic partnerships between the United States and the Caribbean region and strengthening U.S. trade and investment ties with the region.

Presently, the U.S. does about $35 billion in trade with the region, and American businesses can have a greater opportunity to grow in the region with our help.

Deepening economic ties between the U.S. and the Caribbean region helps American partnerships across the Western Hemisphere, where we support budding democracies at our doorstep and create mutually beneficial economic stability with our neighbors. Reciprocal trade is one of the mechanisms we pursue to do that.

Our overall trade agenda was well served by agreements like the 2013 Trade and Investment Framework Agreement between the U.S. and the Caribbean Community, CARICOM, as well as important trade promotion programs like the U.S.-Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act and the HOPE/HELP trade preference programs for Haiti.

The Ways and Means Committee will be taking a hard look at what is needed for the Caribbean. As this resolution provides, we will engage with diverse stakeholders, including CARICOM trade ministers, policymakers, as well as labor, business, and civil society representatives, to dialogue and develop a shared multilateral trade agenda.

The trade programs that we have for the Caribbean, especially the Caribbean Basin Initiative programs like CBTPA preference programs, along with HOPE/HELP for Haiti, have historically enjoyed bipartisan and bicameral support, in part because of the shared history and close ties that the United States has with the Caribbean region.

I am pleased that this resolution also indicates how important the HOPE/HELP trade promotion program is for our sister nation of Haiti. I am committed to strengthening and renewing this program in a timely fashion.

Like any good trading relationship, we must continue to work to improve labor conditions, political stability, and especially to expand economic development to all countries in the important region of the Caribbean.

President Bush recognized the importance of this region by naming it as our ``Third Border.''

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this resolution. The month of June was Caribbean American Heritage Month. There are about 13 million Americans who have Caribbean ancestry here in this country. They represent 4 percent of the American population. This is an opportunity for us to reaffirm this community and demonstrate to our neighboring nations in the Caribbean that we are committed to working together to improve trade and economic conditions.

Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Nebraska for his words, and I indeed recognize with him the importance of American engagement in the region. As Americans, this is our border. We must be engaged in the region so that others do not usurp our authority, our position in the region, and so our American businesses can grow as well. Economic development in this area is in the best interest of the United States.

Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this measure, and I yield back the balance of my time.

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