WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION   
WT/L/858 
5 July 2012 
 (12-3599) 
General Council 
25-26 July 2012 Original:   English 
 
 
 
UNITED STATES – CARIBBEAN BASIN ECONOMIC RECOVERY ACT 
 
Report of the Government of the United States for the Year 2011 
under the Decision of 27 May 20091 
   The following communication, dated 2 July 2012,  is being circulated at the request of the 
Delegation of the United States.  
_______________ 
 
 
1. Introduction 
1. On 27 May 2009, the United States was granted a renewal of the waiver (WT/L/753) of its 
obligations under paragra ph 1 of Article I and paragraphs 1 a nd 2 of Article XIII of the GATT 1994 to 
the extent necessary to permit the United States Govern ment to provide duty free treatment to eligible 
products of the Caribbean Basin countries and territori es as authorized by the provisions of Caribbean 
Basin Economic Recovery Act (CBERA) without being required to extend the same duty-free 
treatment to like products of any other Me mber.  This waiver expires 31 December 2014. 
2. Under the terms of this waiver, the United States is required to  submit to the General Council 
an annual report on the implementation 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 2011. 
2. Duty Free Treatment under the CBERA 
3. Section 211 of the CBERA allows the President of the United States to eliminate duties on all 
products, with certain exceptions
2, from those Caribbean countries and territories that he designates as 
beneficiaries.  Presently, 17 countries and terr itories have requested and are receiving CBERA 
benefits.  These countries and territories are: An tigua and Barbuda, Aruba, The Bahamas, Barbados, 
Belize, British Virgin Islands, Dominica, Grenada,  Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, Panama, 
St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago.  In 
                                                      
1 WT/L/753. 
2 Prior to enactment of the United States-Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act (CBTPA) in 2000, the 
products excluded from duty free treatment were: tex tile and apparel articles which are subject to textile 
agreements; certain footwear which was not eligible fo r duty free entry under the US 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 leatherwearing apparel).  Many of these excluded 
products became  eligible for preferential treatme nt under CBTPA, Title II of the Trade and Development Act of 
2000, which amended 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. WT/L/858 
Page 2  
 
  December 2009, Suriname requested benefits unde r the CBERA.  The United States is currently 
reviewing Suriname’s eligibility for benefits. 
4. On 5 August 2004, the United States signed th e Dominican Republic-Central America-United 
States Free Trade Agreement (CAF TA-DR) with five Central Am erican countries (Costa Rica, 
El Salvador, Guatemala, 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 2007; and for 
Costa Rica on 1 January 2009.  When the CAFTA-D R entered into force for each of these countries, 
the country ceased to be designated as a CBERA and United States-Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act (CBTPA) beneficiary.  The United States and Panama signed a free trade agreement 
on 28 June 2007, but that agreement has not yet entered into force. 
5. The Trade Act of 2002 amended the CBERA to grant additional benefits to Caribbean Basin 
apparel products.  Specifically, these changes perm itted the use of US and regional knit-to-shape 
components in eligible apparel articles.  The Ha itian Hemispheric Opportuni ty through Partnership 
Encouragement (HOPE) Act of 2006 amended the CBE RA program by establishing special new rules 
of origin that make Haiti eligible for new trade be nefits 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 ne w programs that allow for duty-free treatment 
for qualifying Haitian-produced apparel.  In 20 10, the Haiti Economic Lift Program (HELP) Act 
extended the CBTPA and the HOPE Act through 30 September 2020.  The HELP Act also provided 
duty-free treatment for additional tex tile and apparel products from Haiti. 
 
3. CBERA Performance 
6. The CBERA program has helped beneficiary countries diversify their exports.  On a region-
wide basis, this export diversification has led to  a more balanced production and export base and has 
resulted in a reduction in the region's vulnerability to fluctuations in markets for traditional products.   
7. US imports under CBERA preferences rose 25 per cent since the last report from the United 
States in July 2011(WT/L/817).  In 2010, US impor ts under CBERA were $2.9 billion.  In 2011, US 
imports under CBERA increased to $3.62 billion. 
8. The value of US imports  of textile and apparel
3 from CBERA beneficiary countries was 
$466 million in 2011, compared to $360 million in 2010.  CBERA beneficiary countries accounted for  
0.7 per cent of the value of total US textile and apparel imports in 2011, an increase from 2010, but a 
significant drop from 10.6 per cent in 2005.  Much, but not all of the decline, is due to the shift of the 
leading apparel-supplying countries from the CBERA program to the CAFTA-DR. 
9. In addition to resulting in a decline in US imports of apparel from CBERA beneficiary 
countries, the movement of CBERA's six large appa rel producers to the CAFTA-DR has also caused a 
major shift in the composition of imports to the United States from CBERA beneficiary countries.  Of 
the $3.62 billion in imports under CBERA in 2011, en ergy products accounted for 76 per cent, textiles 
and apparel (almost all a pparel) for 12.5 per cent, and agricultural products for 3.1 per cent.  The 
composition of imports under CBERA in 2011 was gene rally similar to that for 2010.  Textiles and 
apparel accounted for 13 per cent of imports under CBERA in 2010, and energy products accounted 
for 76 per cent. 
                                                      
3 The term "textiles and apparel" used herein is based on that used in the WTO, encompassing chapters 
50-63 with certain exclusions for agricultural products in chapters 50-53.  WT/L/858 
 Page 3 
 
 
  10. Mineral fuels (HTS chapter 27) accounted for almost 40 per cent of total US imports from 
CBERA countries in 2011.  The three leading categories of US imports from CBERA countries in 2011 – mineral fuels, knitted or crocheted artic les of apparel or clothing (HTS chapter 61), and 
organic chemicals (HTS chapter 29) – accounted  for 83 per cent of US imports from CBERA 
countries.   
11. Trinidad and Tobago became the leading source of US imports entering under CBERA 
preferences in 2005.  The United States imported $2.6 billion under CBERA preferences from Trinidad and Tobago in 2011, an increase of 17.6 per cent from 2010.  Imports under CBERA 
preferences from Trinidad and Tobago are dominated by petroleum and methanol. 
12. 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 th e GATT Council or WTO General Council. 
______________ 
  
Table 1 provides summary information on US imports for consumption under CBERA provisions 
during the period 2003 through 2011.  Table 2  provides information on leading US imports  for consumption under CBERA provisions, by 
product, during 2009 – 2011.  
Table 3  provides information on US trade with CBERA countries during 2003 through 2011.
  
  
  WT/L/858 
Page 4 TABLE 1 
US Imports for Consumption under CBERA Provisions, by Sources, 2003-20114 
 
Source 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 
 Value (1,000 dollars) 
Trin & Tobago 1,410,853 1,674,430 2,734,524 3,677,726 2,832,296 2,365,386 1,533,773 2,205,811 2,594,465 
Haiti 210,690 218,264 303,390 379,321 430,389 405,118 388,854 364,114 474,602 
Jamaica 178,939 166,708 152,163 245,755 235,947 319,600 212,365 83,910 179,045 
Belize 41,583 44,477 54,749 72,221 54 ,460 129,517 66,019 61,744 146,045 
Bahamas 87,996 92,705 111,345 125,056 137,351 141,038 96,545 98,989 123,854 
Panama 40,834 32,791 40,751 33,828 31,191 46,466 20,607 28,435 55,184 
St Kitts-Nevis 25,713 29,663 25,211 24 ,750 16,189 14,071 8,919 20,466 27,273 
Guyana 16,668 21,048 6,721 5,098 10,099 20,613 14,418 10,632 11,129 
Barbados 6,951 3,513 3,859 4,765 7,100 6,913 4,603 7,233 4,493 
St Lucia Is 5,288 5,836 6,353 7,076 8,594 11,081 10,937 9,199 1,889 
Netherlands Ant 2,714 5,206 6,763 2,157 3,598 11,933 868 1,193 344 
Grenada Is 3 11 9 56 25 126 78 150 257 
Aruba 69 29 30 171 295 229 153 566 249 
Dominica Is 2,528 369 79 66 45 200 115 53 149 
Br  Virgin Is 229 319 198 223 65 437 26 86 136 
St Vinc & Gren 2,536 2,925 521 210 216 171 117 124 88 
Antigua Barbuda 60 51 34 23 132 94 231 21 23 
El Salvador 1,185,146 1,125,843 1,226,033 154,121 0 0 0 0 0 
Honduras 2,175,122 2,314,464 2,372,315 555,925 0 0 0 0 0 
Costa Rica 1,083,025 1,078,966 1,157,763 1,382,065 1,417,864 1,252,756 0 0 0 
Nicaragua 249,015 331,229 403,798 110,981 0 0 0 0 0 
Dominican Rep 2,614,736 2,598,254 2,483,579 2,481,035 310,104 0 0 0 0 
Guatemala 1,088,930 1,189,520 1,246,183 652,845 0 0 0 0 0 
Total 10,429,629 10,936,621 12,336,372 9,915,473 5,495,960 4,725,747 2,358,628 2,892,726 3,619,227 
Note:  Because of rounding, figures may not add to totals given. 
Source :  Compiled from official statistics of the US Department of Commerce. 
                                                      
4CAFTA-DR entered into force for the following countries (date of entry into force), at which time  they ceased to be CBERA benef iciaries: El Salvador (1 March 2006), Honduras and Nicaragua (1 April 2006), 
Guatemala (1 July 2006), the Dominican Republic (1 March 2007), and Costa Rica (1 January 2009).  
   WT/L/858
 Page 5TABLE 1 – CONTINUED 
US Imports for Consumption under CBERA Provisions, by Sources, 2003-2011 
 
Source 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 
 Per cent of total 
Trin & Tobago 13.53 15.31 22.17 37 .09 51.53 50.05 65 .03 76.25 71.69 
Haiti 2.02 2.00 2.46 3.83 7.83 8.57 16.49 12.59 13.11 
Jamaica 1.72 1.52 1.23 2.48 4.29 6.76 9.00 2.90 4.95 
Belize 0.40 0.41 0.44 0.73 0.99 2.74 2.80 2.13 4.04 
Bahamas 0.84 0.85 0.90 1.26 2.50 2.98 4.09 3.42 3.42 
Panama 0.39 0.30 0.33 0.34 0.57 0.98 0.87 0.98 1.52 
St Kitts-Nevis 0.25 0.27 0.20 0.25 0.29 0.30 0.38 0.71 0.75 
Guyana 0.16 0.19 0.05 0.05 0.18 0.44 0.61 0.37 0.31 
Barbados 0.07 0.03 0.03 0.05 0.13 0.15 0.20 0.25 0.12 
St Lucia Is 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.07 0.16 0.23 0.46 0.32 0.05 
Netherlands Ant 0.03 0.05 0.05 0.02 0.07 0.25 0.04 0.04 0.01 
Grenada Is (b) (b) (b) (b) (b) (b) (b) 0.01 0.01 
Aruba (b) (b) (b) (b) 0.01 (b) 0.01 0.02 0.01 
Dominica Is 0.02 (b) (b) (b) (b) (b) (b) (b) (b) 
Br  Virgin Is (b) (b) (b) (b) (b) 0.01 (b) (b) (b) 
St Vinc & Gren 0.02 0.03 (b) (b) (b) (b) (b) (b) (b) 
Antigua Barbuda (b) (b) (b) (b) (b) (b) 0.01 (b) (b) 
El Salvador 11.36 10.29 9.94 1.55 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 
Honduras 20.86 21.16 19.23 5.61 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 
Costa Rica 10.38 9.87 9.38 13.94 25.80 26.51 0.00 0.00 0.00 
Nicaragua 2.39 3.03 3.27 1.12 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 
Dominican Rep 25.07 23.76 20.13 25.02 5.64 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 
Guatemala 10.44 10.88 10.10 6.58 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 
b Less than 0.005 per cent. 
Source :  Compiled from official statistics of the U.S. Department of Commerce. 
 WT/L/858 
Page 6  
 
  TABLE 2 
Leading US Imports for Consump tion under CBERA Provisions, 2009-2011 
 
HTS number Description 2009 2010 2011 Change 
2010-2011 
  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 800.2 1,249.5 1,273.9 2.0 
2905.11.20 Methanol (Methyl alcohol), other than imported 
only for use in producing synthetic natural gas 
(SNG) or for direct use as  fuel 567.7 889.8 1,096.8 23.3 
2207.10.60 Undenatured ethyl alcohol of 80 percent vol. 
alcohol or higher, for nonbevera ge purposes 202.9 10.3 239.5 2228.3 
6110.20.20 Sweaters, pullovers a nd similar articles, knitted 
or crocheted, of cotton, nesoi 152.1 125.1 220.7 76.4 
6109.10.00 T-shirts, singlets, ta nk tops and similar garments, 
knitted or crocheted, of cotton 194.4 203.6 213.1 4.7 
3903.11.00 Polystyrene, expandable, in primary forms 93.9 95.4 122.2 28.1 
2710.19.05 Distillate and residual fuel oil (including blends) 
derived from petroleum or oils from bituminous 
minerals, testing under 25 degr ees A.P.I. 28.5 31.6 95.5 202.6 
1701.11.10 Cane sugar, raw, in solid form, w/o added 
flavoring or coloring, subject to add. US 5 to 
Ch.17 11.3 25.6 67.5 163.9 
2710.19.10 Distillate and residual fuel oil (including blends) 
derived from petroleum oils or oil of bituminous 
minerals, testing 25 degree A. P.I. or > 0.0 0.0 29.4 N/A 
2933.61.00 Melamine 0.0 6.1 23.7 286.7 
6109.90.10 T-shirts, singlets, ta nk tops and similar garments, 
knitted or crocheted, of man-made fibers 16.0 19.8 18.0 -9.2 
0714.90.20 Fresh or chilled yams, whether or not sliced or in 
the form of pellets 15.9 14.4 16.9 17.1 
8525.50.30 Transmission apparatus for television, nesoi 0.0 11.0 15.7 43.8 
0807.20.00 Papayas (papaws) , fresh 11.4 12.1 12.7 5.2 
2710.11.25 Naphthas (exc. motor fu el/mtr fuel blend. stock) 
fr petroleum oils & bitumin minerals (o/than 
crude) or preps 70%+ by wt. fr petroleum oils 59.5 0.0 12.0 N/A 
7108.12.50 Gold, nonmonetary, unwrought (o/than gold 
bullion and dore) 8.7 17.4 8.0 -54.1 
1604.14.40 Tunas and skipjack, not in airtight containers, not 
in oil, in bulk or in immediate containers 
weighing with contents over 6.8 kg each 12.9 10.4 7.7 -26.4 
0804.30.40 Pineapples, fresh or dr ied, not reduced in size, in 
crates or other packages 6.0 8.1 7.2 -11.2 
0804.50.40 Guavas, mangoes, a nd mangosteens, fresh, if 
entered during the period September 1 through 
May 31, inclusive 5.4 1.3 7.1 454.4 
2202.10.00 Waters, including mi neral waters and aerated 
waters, containing added sugar or other 
sweetening matter or flavored 3.2 5.8 6.5 12.3 
 Total of above 2, 190.2 2,737.2 3,493.9 27.6 
 All other 168.5 155.5 125.3 -19.4 
  Total 2,358.6 2,892.7 3,619.2 25.1 
Note:  Because of rounding, figures may not add to totals given.   The abbreviation "nesoi" stands for "not elsewhere specified 
or otherwise included." 
Source :  Compiled from official statistics of the U.S. Department of Commerce. 
 
 
  WT/L/858 
 Page 7 
 
 
  TABLE 3 
US Trade with CBERA Beneficiary Countries, 2003-20115 
 
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 
2003 22,183.6 3.4 24,276.6 1.9 -2,092.9 
2004 22,998.8 3.2 27,428.6 1.9 -4,429.8 
2005 26,061.0 3.2 31,627.5 1.9 -5,566.6 
2006 24,292.9 2.6 25,592.7 1.4 -1,299.9 
2007 19,724.4 1.9 18,901.3 1.0 823.1 
2008 23,496.7 2.0 19,296.2 0.9 4,200.5 
2009 14,482.9 1.5 9,350.5 0.6 5,132.4 
2010 18,482.9 1.6 10,074.8 0.5 8,408.1 
2011      19,843.5  1.5         15,290.9 0.7       4,552.6 
Source :  Compiled from official statistics of the US Department of Commerce. 
 
  
__________  
                                                      
5 Includes imports and exports for countries only while they were CBERA beneficiarie s.  See CBERA Table 1 for 
program coverage. 
6 Domestic exports, f.a.s. basis. 
7 Imports for consumption, customs value.