WT/L/1115  
 
16 September 2021  
(21-6895) Page: 1/8 
General Council  Original: English  
 
 
UNITED STATES – CARIBBEAN BASIN ECONOMIC RECOVERY ACT  
REPORT OF THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES FOR THE YEAR 2020  
UNDER THE DECISION OF 16 OCTOBER 20191 
The following communication, dated 13 September 2021 , is being circulated at the request of the 
delegation of the United States.  
 
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1  INTRODUCTION  
1.1.  On 16 October 2019, the United States was granted a renewal of the waiver (WT/L/1070) of 
its obligations under paragraph 1 of Article  I and paragraphs 1 and 2  of Article XIII of the GATT 1994 
to the extent necessary to permit the United States Government to provide duty -free treatment to 
eligible products of the Caribbean Basin countries and territories as authorized by the provisions of 
the Caribbean Basin Eco nomic Recovery Act (CBERA) without being required to extend the same 
duty-free treatment to like products of any other Member.  
1.2.  Under the terms of this waiver, the United States is required to submit to the General Council 
an annual report on the implement ation of the trade -related provisions of the CBERA with a view to 
facilitating the annual review provided for in paragraph 4 of Article IX of the WTO Agreement. This 
report covers calendar year 2020.  
2  DUTY FREE TREATMENT UNDER THE CBERA  
2.1.  Section 211 of the C BERA allows the President of the United States to eliminate duties on all 
products, with certain exceptions2, from those Caribbean countries and territories that the President 
designates as beneficiaries. In 2020, 17  countries and territories were eligible for and received 
CBERA benefits. These countries and territories were: Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, The Bahamas, 
Barbados, Belize, British Virgin Islands, Curaçao, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, 
Montserrat, St.  Kitts and Nevis, St. Luci a, St.  Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago.  
2.2.  On 5 August 2004, the United States signed the Dominican Republic -Central America -United 
States Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA -DR) with five Central American countries (Costa Rica, 
El Salvador, Guate mala, Honduras, and Nicaragua) and the Dominican Republic. The CAFTA -DR 
entered into force for El Salvador on 1 March 2006; for Honduras on 1 April 2006; for Nicaragua on 
1 April 2006; for Guatemala on 1 July 2006; for the Dominican Republic on 1 March 200 7; and for 
Costa Rica on 1 January 2009. When the CAFTA -DR entered into force for each of these countries, 
 
1 WT/L/1070.  
2 Prior to enactment of the United States -Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act (CBTPA) in 2000, the 
products excluded from duty -free treatment were: textile and apparel articles which are subject to textile 
agreements; certain footwear which was not eligib le for duty -free entry under the U .S. Generalized System of 
Preferences in 1983; prepared tuna in airtight containers; petroleum and petroleum products; watches and watch 
parts if such products contain any material from countries not accorded MFN treatment ; and certain leather 
products (handbags, luggage, flat goods, work gloves, and leather wearing apparel). Many of these excluded 
products became eligible for preferential treatment under CBTPA, Title II of the Trade and Development Act of 
2000, which amend ed the CBERA. The Trade Act of 2002, the Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity through 
Partnership Encouragement (HOPE) Act of 2006, and the HOPE II Act of 2008 further amended the CBERA , 
adding additional benefits for Haiti . WT/L/1115  
 
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  the country ceased to be designated as a CBERA and CBTPA beneficiary. On 31 October 2012, the 
United States -Panama Trade Promotion Agreement (TPA) en tered into force and Panama ceased to 
be designated as a CBERA and CBTPA beneficiary.  
2.3.  The Trade Act of 2002 amended the CBERA to grant additional benefits to Caribbean Basin 
apparel products. Specifically, these changes permitted the use of US and regional  knit-to-shape 
components in eligible apparel articles. In addition, the Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity through 
Partnership Encouragement (HOPE) Act of 2006 amended the CBERA program by establishing special 
new rules of origin that make Haiti eligible for  new trade benefits for apparel imports and that 
enhance sourcing flexibility for apparel producers in Haiti. The HOPE II Act of 2008 modified the 
existing trade preference programs under HOPE and added other new programs that allow for duty -
free treatment  for qualifying Haitian -produced apparel. In 2010, the Haiti Economic Lift Program 
(HELP) Act extended the CBTPA and the HOPE Acts through 30  September  2020. The HELP Act also 
provided duty -free treatment for additional textile and apparel products from Ha iti. Section 301 of 
the Trade Preferences Extension Act of 2015 extended preferences for certain products of Haiti 
through  30 September 2025. In 2020, the CBTPA was extended through 30 September 2030.  
3  CBERA PERFORMANCE  
3.1.  Combined with economic reform and oth er actions taken by beneficiary countries to liberalize 
their trade regimes, the trade benefits of the Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI) have both helped 
beneficiary countries and dependent territories in the region diversify their exports and have 
contribu ted to their economic growth.  
3.2.  In 2020, US imports under CBERA preferences increased 21 per  cent from $1.4 billion in 2019 
to $1.7 billion in 2020. This increase in US imports is driven in large part by the increase of methanol 
imports under CBERA from Tri nidad and Tobago ($247.7 million). In 2019, US imports of methanol 
under CBERA preferences decreased to $0 from $449.4 million in 2018. Imports of methanol from 
Trinidad and Tobago came into the US in 2019 with no preference claimed (MFN dutiable at 5.5 pe r 
cent). Table 2 shows that US imports of methanol under CBERA preferences increased from $0 in 
2019 to $247.7 million in 2020.  
3.3.  Of the $1.7 billion in imports under CBERA in 2020, energy -related products3 accounted for 
41 per cent, textiles and apparel ( almost all apparel) for 43 per  cent, agricultural products and 
processed food for 11 per  cent, and mining and manufacturing for 5 per  cent. 
3.4.  The leading beneficiary countries for imports entering under CBERA preferences in 2020 were 
Haiti, Trinidad and Toba go, and Guyana. The United States imported $757 million under CBERA 
preferences from Haiti in 2020. US imports under CBERA preferences from Haiti decreased from 
$999 million in 2019 to $757 million in 2020, or a 24 percent drop. Trinidad and Tobago was the  
second leading supplier of US imports under CBERA in 2020. U S imports from Trinidad and Tobago 
under CBERA totalled $472 million in 2020 up from $228 million in 2019, or a 107 per  cent increase. 
In 2020, exports from Guyana to the United States under CBER A soared to $265 million from 
$4 million in 2019, largely because of a surge in exports of petroleum ($263 million).  
3.5.  Statistical annexes are provided to present a detailed description of the trade aspects of the 
CBERA program for the most recent period. De tailed information for previous years has been 
provided in previous reports to the GATT Council or WTO General Council.  
  
 
3 The term "energy -related products"  used herein encompasses chapters 27 and 29 of the US Harmonized 
Tariff Schedule.  WT/L/1115  
 
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  Table 1 provides summary information on US imports for consumption under CBERA provisions, by 
sources, during the period 2012 through 2020.  
 
Table 2  provides information on US imports under CBERA of Methanol (2905.11.20) from Trinidad 
and Tobago, during the period 2016 through 2020.  
 
Table 3  provides information on leading US imports for consumption under CBERA provisions, by 
product, d uring the period 2018 through 2020.  
 
Table 4  provides information on US trade with CBERA countries during the period 2012 through 
2020.  
 
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  WT/L/1115  
 
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TABLE 1  
US IMPORTS FOR CONSUMPTION UNDER CBERA PROVISIONS, BY SOURCES, 2012-20204 
Source  2012  2013  2014  2015  2016  2017  2018  2019  2020   
Value (1,000 dollars)  
Haiti 740,194  784,280  856,911  930,583  857,223  879,004  955,022  998,845  756,640  
Trinidad and Tobago  2,171,197  1,640,709  1,234,474  830,291  379,017  487,845  551,809  227,590  471,591  
Guyana  5,315  4,532  11,857  34,918  1,551  732 851 4,397  265,394  
Jamaica  206,201  90,231  71,779  81,583  74,571  72,762  83,707  92,853  108,920  
Bahamas  130,539  141,654  158,191  88,389  68,403  79,744  66,181  60,673  56,751  
Belize  131,943  104,777  60,582  36,881  17,136  12,398  15,209  20,653  15,439  
Barbados  3,813  2,081  5,295  22,570  2,321  3,558  7,453  5,753  7,567  
Saint Kitts  and Nevis  22,350  18,933  18,341  10,481  7,158  5,083  5,076  4,234  3,307  
Grenada  341 295 443 1,728  1,809  2,405  2,912  2,991  2,486  
Saint Lucia  1,836  3,210  1,162  1,301  627 342 373 488 575 
Curaçao  0 0 5,365  3 85 124 119 57 155 
Dominica  117 170 66 77 22 48 36 29 50 
Antigua Barbuda  30 24 19 82 37 161 19 18 36 
Aruba  27 18 75 93 15 36 16 30 32 
Saint Vincent and the 
Grenadines  138 141 182 16 45 102 22 77 0 
British Virgin Islands  451 103 50 9 9 0 22 11 0 
Panama  26,308  0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
Montserrat  24 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 
Total 3,440,824  2,791,158  2,424,793  2,039,003  1,410,031  1,544,346  1,688,826  1,418,698  1,688,943  
Note:  Due to rounding, figures may not add to totals given. Haiti data for 2016 and 2017 were created using adjusted data based on provisions in chapter 98 of the US 
Harmonized Tariff Schedule (98). Other years of Haiti data were adjusted based on import program claimed and rate provision claimed.  
Source:  Compiled from official statistics of the US Department of Commerce.  
 
4 CAFTA -DR entered into force for the following countries (date of entry into force), at which time they ceased to be CBERA beneficia ries: El Salvador (1 March  2006), 
Hondura s and Nicaragua (1 April 2006), Guatemala (1 July 2006), the Dominican Republic (1 March 2007), and Costa Rica (1 January 200 9). TPA entered into force as of 
31 October 2012, at which time Panama ceased to be a CBERA beneficiary.   
  WT/L/1115  
 
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US IMPORTS FOR CONSUMPTION UNDER CBERA PROVISIONS, BY SOURCES, 2012 -2020 
Source  2012  2013  2014  2015  2016  2017  2018  2019  2020  
  Per cent of total   
Haiti 21.51  28.10  35.34  45.64  60.79  56.92  56.55  70.41  44.80  
Trinidad and Tobago  63.10  58.78  50.91  40.72  26.88  31.59  32.67  16.04  27.92  
Guyana  0.15 0.16 0.49 1.71 0.11 0.05 0.05 0.31 15.71  
Jamaica  5.99 3.23 2.96 4.00 5.29 4.71 4.96 6.54 6.45 
Bahamas  3.79 5.08 6.52 4.33 4.85 5.16 3.92 4.28 3.36 
Belize  3.83 3.75 2.50 1.81 1.22 0.80 0.90 1.46 0.91 
Barbados  0.11 0.07 0.22 1.11 0.16 0.23 0.44 0.41 0.45 
Saint Kitts  and Nevis  0.65 0.68 0.76 0.51 0.51 0.33 0.30 0.30 0.20 
Grenada  0.01 0.01 0.02 0.08 0.13 0.16 0.17 0.21 0.15 
Saint Lucia  0.05 0.12 0.05 0.06 0.04 0.02 0.02 0.03 0.03 
Curaçao  0.00 0.00 0.22 0.00 0.01 0.01 0.01 (a) 0.01 
Dominica  0.00 0.01 (a) (a) (a) (a) (a) (a) (a) 
Antigua Barbuda  0.00 0.00 (a) (a) (a) 0.01 (a) (a) (a) 
Aruba  (a) (a) (a) (a) (a) (a) (a) (a) (a) 
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines  (a) 0.01 0.01 (a) (a) 0.01 (a) 0.01 0.00 
British Virgin Islands  0.01 0.00 0.00 0.00 (a) 0.00 (a) (a) 0.00 
Panama  0.76 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 
Montserrat  (a) 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 
Total 100.00  100.00  100.00  100.00  100.00  100.00  100.00  100.00  100.00  
(a) Less than 0.005 per cent.  
Source:  Compiled from official import statistics of the US Department of Commerce.WT/L/1115  
 
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  TABLE 2  
US IMPORTS UNDER CBERA OF METHANOL (2905.11.20) FROM TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO, 
2016-2020 
Program  2016  2017  2018  2019  2020  
CBERA  253,212,849  378,272,987  449,419,867  0 247,714,469  
No special programs claimed  4,043,576  12,020,986  13,266,055  367,517,645  10,645,003  
 
  WT/L/1115  
 
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  TABLE 3  
LEADING US IMPORTS FOR CONSUMPTION UNDER CBERA PROVISIONS, 2018 -2020 
HTS 
Number  Description  2018  2019  2020  Change 
2019 – 
2020    
Value (millions of dollars)  Per cent  
2709.00.20  Petroleum oils and oils from bituminous minerals, crude, 
testing 25 degrees A.P.I. or more  38.6 88.9 279.6  214.6  
2905.11.20  Methanol (Methyl alcohol), other than imported only for 
use in producing synthetic natural gas (SNG) or for direct 
use as fuel  449.4  0.0 247.7  NA 
6109.10.00  T-shirts, singlets, tank tops and similar garments, knitted 
or crocheted, of cotton  285.3  289.0  206.5  -28.5 
2709.00.10  Petroleum oils and oils from bituminous minerals, crude, 
testing under 25 degrees A.P.I.  0.0 102.6  161.3  57.2 
6110.30.30  Sweaters, pullovers and similar articles, knitted or 
crocheted, of manmade fibers, nesoi  141.5  152.2  109.8  -27.9 
6109.90.10  T-shirts, singlets, tank tops and similar garments, knitted 
or crocheted, of man -made fibers  106.3  175.8  96.9 -44.9 
6104.62.20  Women's or girls' trousers, breeches and shorts, knitted 
or crocheted, of cotton  59.9 60.2 69.1 14.6 
6110.20.20  Sweaters, pullovers and similar articles, knitted or 
crocheted, of cotton, nesoi  112.4  90.2 64.4 -28.6 
3903.11.00  Polystyrene, expandable, in primary forms  64.4 58.3 55.4 -5.1 
0714.30.10  Fresh or chilled yams (Dioscorea spp.), whether or not 
sliced or in the form of pellets  24.4 24.4 30.1 23.6 
2106.90.98  Other food preps nesoi, incl preps for the manufacture of 
beverages, non -dairy coffee whiteners, herbal teas and 
flavored honey  18.4 23.5 26.9 14.3 
6203.43.90  Men's/boys' trousers, breeches, shorts, not k/c, synth 
fibers, con under 15% wt down etc, cont und 36% wt 
wool, n/water resist, not rec perf outwear  48.7 46.7 24.4 -47.8 
6104.63.20  Women's or girls' trousers, breeches and shorts, knitted 
or crocheted, of synthetic fibers, nesoi  19.6 31.8 23.4 -26.3 
6205.30.20  Men's or boys' shirts, not knitted or crocheted, of 
manmade fibers, nesoi  31.3 21.8 23.2 6.4 
6211.43.10  Women's or girls' track suits or other garments nesoi, not 
knitted or crocheted, of man -made fibers, o/than rec perf 
outwear  9.2 13.2 21.5 63.4 
1701.14.10  Other cane sugar, raw, in solid form, w/o added flavoring 
or coloring, subject to add. US 5 to Ch.17  2.3 17.8 21.3 19.9 
2103.90.90  Sauces and preparations therefor, neosi  9.4 11.1 19.4 75.0 
6204.63.90  Women's or girls' trousers, breeches and shorts, not 
knitted or crocheted, of synthetic fibers, nesoi, o/than rec 
perf outwear  11.5 9.0 10.5 15.8 
6108.22.90  Women's or girls' briefs and panties (other than 
disposable), of man -made fibers, knitted or crocheted  11.2 7.2 9.6 33.1 
6103.43.15  Men's or boys' trousers, breeches and shorts, knitted or 
crocheted, of synthetic fibers, nesoi  17.5 10.0 9.4 -6.1 
 
Total of above  1,461.4  1,233.7  1,510.5  22.4 
 
All other  227.4  185.0  178.5  -3.5 
  Total 1,688.8  1,418.7  1,688.9  19.0 
Note:  Due to rounding, figures may not add to totals given. The abbreviations "nesoi" stands for "not 
elsewhere specified or otherwise included." NV indicates the tariff line was not valid in that year. NA 
indicates a calculation was not applicable.  
Source:  Comp iled from official import statistics of the U S Department of Commerce.  
  WT/L/1115  
 
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  TABLE 4  
US TRADE WITH CBERA BENEFICIARY COUNTRIES, 2012 -20205 
Year US Exports6 Share of US 
exports to 
the world  US Imports7 Share of US 
imports from 
the world  US trade balance  
 
Millions dollars  Per cent  Millions dollars  Per cent  Millions dollars  
2012 20,449.0  1.5 11,956.9  0.5 8,492.1  
2013 11,880.2  0.9 8,936.9  0.4 2,943.4  
2014 12,742.8  0.9 8,495.9  0.4 4,246.9  
2015 11,635.0  0.9 7,066.6  0.3 4,568.4  
2016 10,475.5  0.9 5,339.9  0.2 5,135.6  
2017 12,204.4  0.9 5,876.5  0.3 6,327.9  
2018 13,479.4  1.0 6,094.1  0.2 7,385.3  
2019 13,894.9  1.0 5,583.3  0.2 8,311.6  
2020 11,245.2  0.9 4,985.0  0.2 6,260.2  
Note:  Due to rounding, figures may not add to totals given. Panama was eligible for CBERA, and thus included 
in this table, until the Panama FTA went into force into 2012. The Netherland Antilles was eligible until 
2013, and after 2013 Curaçao  became a CBERA ben eficiary.  
Source : Compiled from official statistics of the US Department of Commerce.  
 
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5 Includes imports and exp orts for countries only while they were CBERA beneficiaries. See CBERA 
Table  1 for program me coverage.  
6 Domestic exports, f.a.s. basis.  
7 Imports for consumption, customs value.