WORLD TRADE  
ORGANIZATION   
WT/L/817 
15 July 2011 
 (11-3552) 
General Council 
27-28 July 2011 Original:   English 
 
 
 
UNITED STATES – CARIBBEAN BASIN ECONOMIC RECOVERY ACT 
 
Report of the Government of the United States for the Year 2010 
under the Decision of 27 May 20091 
   The following communication, dated 7 July 2011,  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 2010. 
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 th e 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/817 
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 slightly since the last report from the United 
States in May 2010 (WT/L/794).  In 2009, US impor ts under CBERA were $2.4 billion.  In 2010, US 
imports under CBERA increased to $2.9 billion. 
8. The value of US imports of textile and apparel from CBERA beneficiary countries was 
$360 million in 2010, compared to $362 million in 2009.  CBERA beneficiary countries accounted for 
0.6 per cent of the value of total US textile a nd apparel imports in 2010, the same shares as the 
previous year, 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-supplyi ng 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 a pparel 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 $2.9 billion in imports under CBERA in 2010,  energy products accounted for 76.7 per cent, 
textiles and apparel (almost all appa rel) for 12.0 per cent, and agricultu ral products for 2.7 per cent.  
The composition of imports under CBERA in 2010 was generally similar to that for 2009.  Apparel 
accounted for 16.2 per cent of imports under CBE RA in 2009, and energy products accounted for 
71.9 per cent. 
10. Mineral fuels (HTS chapter 27) accounted for sli ghtly less than half of total US imports from 
CBERA countries in 2010.  The three leading categories of US imports from CBERA countries in 2010 – mineral fuels, knitted or crocheted artic les of apparel or clothing (HTS chapter 61), and  WT/L/817 
 Page 3 
 
 
  inorganic chemicals (HTS chapter 28) – accounted  for 57.3 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 $2.2 billion under CBERA preferences from Trinidad and Tobago in 2010, an increase of 43.8 per cent from 2009.  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 2002 through 2010.  
Table 2  provides information on leading US imports  for consumption under CBERA provisions, by 
product, during 2008 – 2010.  Table 3  provides information on US trade with CBERA countries during 2002 through 2010.
   
  WT/L/817 
Page 4 TABLE 1 
US Imports for Consumption under CBERA Provisions, by Sources, 2002-20103 
 
Source 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 
 Value (1,000 dollars) 
Trin & Tobago 1,173,434 1,410,853 1,674,430 2,734,524 3,677,726 2,832,296 2,365,386 1,533,773 2,205,811 
Haiti 176,509 210,690 218,264 303,390 379,321 430,389 405,118 388,854 364,114 
Bahamas 70,881 87,996 92,705 111,345 12 5,056 137,351 141,038 96,545 98,989 
Jamaica 194,059 178,939 166,708 152,163 245,755 235,947 319,600 212,365 83,910 
Belize 42,834 41,583 44,477 54,749 72 ,221 54,460 129,517 66,019 61,744 
Panama 41,551 40,834 32,791 40,751 33,828 31,191 46,466 20,607 28,435 
St Kitts-Nevis 27,305 25,713 29,663 25 ,211 24,750 16,189 14,071 8,919 20,466 
Guyana 21,912 16,668 21,048 6,721 5,098 10,099 20,613 14,418 10,632 
St Lucia Is 7,980 5,288 5,836 6,353 7,076 8,594 11,081 10,937 9,199 
Barbados 12,357 6,951 3,513 3,859 4,765 7,100 6,913 4,603 7,233 
Netherlands Ant 3,089 2,714 5,206 6,763 2,157 3,598 11,933 868 1,193 
Aruba 23 69 29 30 171 295 229 153 566 
Grenada Is 37 3 11 9 56 25 126 78 150 
St Vinc & Gren 5,514 2,536 2,925 521 210 216 171 117 124 
Br  Virgin Is 66 229 319 198 223 65 437 26 86 
Dominica Is 374 2,528 369 79 66 45 200 115 53 
Antigua Barbuda 43 60 51 34 23 132 94 231 21 
Nicaragua 212,845 249,015 331,229 403,798 110,981 0 0 0 0 
Guatemala 1,044,628 1,088,930 1,189,520 1,246,183 652,845 0 0 0 0 
Costa Rica 1,154,516 1,083,025 1,078,966 1,157,763 1,382,065 1,417,864 1,252,756 0 0 
Honduras 1,989,871 2,175,122 2,314,464 2,372,315 555,925 0 0 0 0 
El Salvador 1,144,089 1,185,146 1,125,843 1,226,033 154,121 0 0 0 0 
Dominican Rep 2,679,342 2,614,736 2,598,254 2,483,579 2,481,035 310,104 0 0 0 
Total 10,003,260 10,429,629 10,936,621 12,336,372 9,915,473 5,495,960 4,725,747 2,358,628 2,892,726 
Source :  Compiled from official statistics of the US International Trade Commission. 
 
                                                      
3CAFTA-DR entered into force for the following  countries (date of entry in to force), at which time th ey ceased to be CBERA benef iciaries: El Salvador (1 March 2006), 
Honduras and Nicaragua (1 April 2006), Guatem ala (1 July 2006), the Domi nican Republic (1 March 2007), and Costa Rica (1 Januar y 2009).  
   WT/L/817
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TABLE 1 – CONTINUED 
US Imports for Consumption under CBERA Provisions, by Sources, 2002-2010 
 
Source 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 
 Per cent of total 
Trinidad & Tobago 11.73 13.53 15.31 22.17 37.09 51.53 50.05 65.03 76.25 
Haiti 1.76 2.02 2.00 2.46 3.83 7.83 8.57 16.49 12.59 
Bahamas 0.71 0.84 0.85 0.90 1.26 2.50 2.98 4.09 3.42 
Jamaica 1.94 1.72 1.52 1.23 2.48 4.29 6.76 9.00 2.90 
Belize 0.43 0.40 0.41 0.44 0.73 0.99 2.74 2.80 2.13 
Panama 0.42 0.39 0.30 0.33 0.34 0.57 0.98 0.87 0.98 
St Kitts & Nevis 0.27 0.25 0.27 0.20 0.25 0.29 0.30 0.38 0.71 
Guyana 0.22 0.16 0.19 0.05 0.05 0.18 0.44 0.61 0.37 
St Lucia Island 0.08 0.05 0.05 0.05 0.07 0.16 0.23 0.46 0.32 
Barbados 0.12 0.07 0.03 0.03 0.05 0.13 0.15 0.20 0.25 
Netherlands Antilles 0.03 0.03 0.05 0.05 0.02 0.07 0.25 0.04 0.04 
Aruba (b) (b) (b) (b) (b) 0.01 (b) 0.01 0.02 
Grenada (b) (b) (b) (b) (b) (b) (b) (b) 0.01 
St Vincent and the Grenadines 0.06 0.02 0.03 (b) (b) (b) (b) (b) (b) 
British Virgin Islands (b) (b) (b) (b) (b) (b) 0.01 (b) (b) 
Dominica (b) 0.02 (b) (b) (b) (b) (b) (b) (b) 
Antigua & Barbuda (b) (b) (b) (b) (b) (b) (b) 0.01 (b) 
Nicaragua 2.13 2.39 3.03 3.27 1.12 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 
Guatemala 10.44 10.44 10.88 10.10 6.58 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 
Costa Rica 11.54 10.38 9.87 9.38 13.94 25.80 26.51 0.00 0.00 
Honduras 19.89 20.86 21.16 19.23 5.61 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 
El Salvador 11.44 11.36 10.29 9.94 1.55 0.00 0.00 0.00 0.00 
Dominican Republic 26.78 25.07 23.76 20.13 25.02 5.64 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 US International Trade Commission. WT/L/817 
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  TABLE 2 
Leading US Imports for Consumption under CBERA Provisions, 2008-2010 
 
HTS number Description 2008 2009 2010 Change 
2009-2010 
  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 904.0 800.2 1,249.5 56.1 
2905.11.20 Methanol (Methyl alcohol), other than imported 
only for use in producing synthetic natural gas 
(SNG) or for direct use as  fuel 1,175.2 567.7 889.8 56.7 
2207.10.60 Undenatured ethyl alcohol of 80 per cent vol. 
alcohol or higher, for nonbevera ge purposes 483.1 202.9 10.3 -94.9 
6109.10.00 T-shirts, singlets, ta nk tops and similar garments, 
knitted or crocheted, of cotton 168.9 194.4 203.6 4.7 
6110.20.20 Sweaters, pullovers a nd similar articles, knitted 
or crocheted, of cotton, nesoi 145.8 152.1 125.1 -17.7 
3903.11.00 Polystyrene, expandable, in primary forms 135.5 93.9 95.4 1.6 
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 143.6 59.5 0.0 -100.0 
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. 19.6 28.5 31.6 10.6 
2207.20.00 Ethyl alcohol and other spirits, denatured, of any 
strength 20.0 26.7 0.0 -100.0 
2009.11.00 Orange juice, frozen, unfermented and not 
containing added spirit  64.7 16.8 6.7 -60.2 
6109.90.10 T-shirts, singlets, ta nk tops and similar garments, 
knitted or crocheted, of man-made fibers 22.1 16.0 19.8 23.8 
0714.90.20 Fresh or chilled yams, whether or not sliced or in 
the form of pellets 29.9 15.9 14.4 -9.4 
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 12.9 10.4 -19.4 
0807.20.00 Papayas (papaws) , fresh 14.0 11.4 12.1 5.5 
1701.11.10 Cane sugar, raw, in solid form, w/o added 
flavoring or coloring, subject to add. US 5 to 
Ch.17 22.3 11.3 25.6 126.9 
2710.11.45 Light oil mixt. of hydrocarbons fr petro oils & 
bitum min(o/than crude) or prep 70%+ wt. fr 
petro oils, nesoi,n/o 50% any sing le hydrocarbon 15.1 10.4 27.4 162.9 
8529.10.20 Television antennas a nd antenna reflectors, and 
parts suitable for use therewith 7.7 9.3 7.9 -15.0 
7108.12.50 Gold, nonmonetary, unwrought (o/than gold 
bullion and dore) 26.9 8.7 17.4 100.7 
2207.10.30 Undenatured ethyl alcohol of 80 per cent vol. 
alcohol or higher, for bevera ge purposes 8.7 6.2 9.7 56.2 
0804.30.40 Pineapples, fresh or dr ied, not reduced in size, in 
crates or other packages 393.1 6.0 8.1 34.2 
 Total of above 3, 813.1 2,251.0 2,764.7 22.8 
 All other 912.7 107.6 128.0 19.0 
  Total 4,725.7 2,358.6 2,892.7 22.6 
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 US International Trade Commission. 
  WT/L/817 
 Page 7 
 
 
   
TABLE 3 
US Trade with CBERA Beneficiary Countries, 2002-20104 
 
Year US exports5 Share of US 
exports to the 
world US imports6Share of US 
imports from the 
world US trade balance 
 Millions dollars Per cent Millions dollars Per cent Millions dollars 
2002 20,702.5 3.3 21,254.8 1.8 -552.3 
2003 22,183.6 3.4 24,499.6 2.0 -2,315.9 
2004 22,998.8 3.2 27,555.5 1.9 -4,556.7 
2005 26,061.0 3.2 31,814.3 1.9 -5,753.4 
2006 24,292.9 2.6 25,755.2 1.4 -1,462.4 
2007 19,724.4 1.9 19,058.2 1.0 666.1 
2008 23,496.7 2.0 19,485.5 0.9 4,011.2 
2009 14,482.9 1.5 9,414.0 0.6 5,068.9 
2010 18,482.9 1.6 10,120.9 0.5 8,361.9 
Source :  Compiled from official statistics of the US International Trade Commission. 
 
 
__________  
                                                      
4 Includes imports and exports for countries only wh ile they were CBERA beneficiaries.  See CBERA 
Table 1 for program coverage. 
5 Domestic exports, f.a.s. basis. 
6 Imports for consumption, customs value.