Value of Haitian exports to the US under trade preferences programs
As a Least Developed Country (LDC), Haiti enjoys generous preferential trade arrangements with the United States and Canada. As a member of CARICOM. Haiti has access to Europe and 14 Latin American countries as part of the single regional market with free movement of goods and other factors of production.
The United States has also enacted four laws that provide Haiti with an immense advantage over its competitors in the apparel industry. These are the Caribbean Basin Trade Preference Act (CBTPA), the Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity through Partnership Encouragement (HOPE) Act of 2006, the HOPE Act of 2008 (HOPE II Act), and the Haiti Economic Lift Program of 2010 (HELP). Most preferences provided under these laws are currently set to run through September 30, 2025.
Under these programs, Haitian apparel exports to the United States have been growing steadily, and will likely continue to expand to take advantage of duty-free access to the U.S. market.
As a result of these agreements, Haiti has preferential access to close to one billion customers in the most attractive markets worldwide
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Current Preference Highlights
- Duty-free access, with some exclusions, for up to 70 million square meter equivalents (SME) of knit apparel and 70 million SMEs of woven apparel without regard to the country of origin of the yarn, fabric or components, as long as the apparel is wholly assembled or knit-to-shape in Haiti; once the 70 million SME limits for knit and woven apparel are hit, the limits increase up to 200 million SMEs
- Duty-free treatment for apparel wholly assembled or knit-to-shape in Haiti with between 50 and 60 percent value from Haiti, the United States, a U.S. free trade agreement partner or preference program beneficiary, or a combination thereof
- Duty-free treatment of knit or woven apparel under a “two for one” earned import allowance program: for every two SMEs of qualifying fabric (sourced from the United States or certain trade partner countries) used to produce exports for the U.S. in Haiti, one SME of nonqualifying fabric can also be used
- Duty-free treatment for certain brassieres, luggage, headgear, and certain sleepwear
- Permission for Haitian goods to enter the United States duty-free if shipped either directly from Haiti or through the Dominican Republic.