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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5035 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>

118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 5035

    To modify the special rules for Haiti under the Caribbean Basin 
 Economic Recovery Act, to extend preferential duty treatment program 
           for Haiti under that Act, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 27, 2023

 Ms. Plaskett (for herself, Ms. Sewell, and Mr. Blumenauer) introduced 
  the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and 
                                 Means

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
    To modify the special rules for Haiti under the Caribbean Basin 
 Economic Recovery Act, to extend preferential duty treatment program 
           for Haiti under that Act, and for other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Hemispheric Opportunity through 
Partnership Enhancement for Haitian Prosperity Act of 2023'' or the 
``HOPE for Haitian Prosperity Act of 2023''.

SEC. 2. MODIFICATION OF SPECIAL RULES FOR HAITI UNDER THE CARIBBEAN 
              BASIN ECONOMIC RECOVERY ACT.

    (a) Eligibility Requirements.--Section 213A(d)(4) of the Caribbean 
Basin Economic Recovery Act (19 U.S.C. 2703a(d)(4)) is amended--
            (1) by striking ``Any interested party'' and inserting the 
        following:
                    ``(A) In general.--Any interested party'';
            (2) by striking ``paragraph (1),'' and inserting 
        ``paragraph (1).'';
            (3) by striking ``and the President shall provide for this 
        purpose'' and inserting the following:
                    ``(C) Applicable procedures.--The President shall 
                provide for the purpose of subparagraph (A) and the 
                purpose of subparagraph (B)''; and
            (4) by inserting after subparagraph (A) (as so designated) 
        the following:
                    ``(B) Compliance with core labor standards and with 
                the labor laws of haiti.--Any interested party may file 
                a request to have the status of individual producers 
                reviewed with respect to compliance with core labor 
                standards and with the labor laws of Haiti that 
                directly relate to and are consistent with core labor 
                standards and with the labor laws of Haiti that relate 
                to acceptable conditions of work with respect to 
                minimum wages and hours of work.''.
    (b) Technical Assistance Improvement and Compliance Needs 
Assessment and Remediation Program.--Section 213A(e)(4)(B) of the 
Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (19 U.S.C. 2703a(e)(4)(B)) is 
amended--
            (1) in clause (i)--
                    (A) by striking ``a biennial basis'' and inserting 
                ``an annual basis''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end before the period the 
                following: ``or with the labor laws of Haiti that 
                relate to acceptable conditions of work with respect to 
                minimum wages and hours of work'';
            (2) in clause (ii)--
                    (A) in the first sentence, by adding at the end 
                before the period the following: ``and with the labor 
                laws of Haiti that relate to acceptable conditions of 
                work with respect to minimum wages and hours of work''; 
                and
                    (B) by inserting after the first sentence the 
                following new sentence: ``The President may withdraw, 
                suspend, or limit the application of preferential 
                treatment under subsection (b) to articles of such 
                producer during the period in which assistance 
                described in the preceding sentence is being provided 
                to the producer.''; and
            (3) in clause (iii), by inserting after ``and are 
        consistent with core labor standards'' the following: ``and 
        with the labor laws of Haiti that relate to acceptable 
        conditions of work with respect to minimum wages and hours of 
        work''.

SEC. 3. EXTENSION OF PREFERENTIAL DUTY TREATMENT PROGRAM FOR HAITI.

    Section 213A of the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (19 
U.S.C. 2703a) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)(3)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (D), by striking ``and'' at the 
                end;
                    (B) in subparagraph (E), by striking the period at 
                the end and inserting ``; and''; and
                    (C) by adding at the end the following:
                    ``(F) a safe and healthy working environment.'';
            (2) in subsection (b)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1)--
                            (i) in subparagraph (B)(v)(I)--
                                    (I) by striking ``means'' and all 
                                that follows through ``60 percent'' and 
                                inserting ``means 60 percent''; and
                                    (II) by striking ``7 succeeding 1-
                                year periods'' and inserting ``17 
                                succeeding 1-year periods''; and
                            (ii) in subparagraph (C)--
                                    (I) in the table, by striking ``16 
                                succeeding 1-year periods'' and 
                                inserting ``28 succeeding 1-year 
                                periods''; and
                                    (II) in the matter following the 
                                table, by striking ``2025'' and 
                                inserting ``2035''; and
                    (B) in paragraph (2)--
                            (i) in subparagraph (A)(ii), by striking 
                        ``16 succeeding 1-year periods'' and inserting 
                        ``26 succeeding 1-year periods''; and
                            (ii) in subparagraph (B)(iii), by striking 
                        ``16 succeeding 1-year periods'' and inserting 
                        ``26 succeeding 1-year periods'';
            (3) in subsection (d)(1)(A)(vi), by striking ``, hours of 
        work, and occupational safety and health'' and inserting ``and 
        hours of work'';
            (4) in subsection (e)(3)--
                    (A) in subparagraph (B)(ii), by striking ``, hours 
                of work, and occupational safety and health'' and 
                inserting ``and hours of work''; and
                    (B) in subparagraph and (E)(ii), by striking ``, 
                hours of work, and occupational safety and health'' and 
                inserting ``and hours of work''; and
            (5) in subsection (h), by striking ``2025'' and inserting 
        ``2035''.

SEC. 4. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE TO INCREASE AND DIVERSIFY EXPORTS FROM 
              HAITI TO THE UNITED STATES.

    Section 213A of the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (19 
U.S.C. 2703a), as amended by this Act, is further amended by adding at 
the end the following:
    ``(i) Technical Assistance To Increase and Diversify Exports From 
Haiti to the United States.--
            ``(1) In general.--The United States Trade Representative 
        shall provide technical assistance to the agencies, entities, 
        and individuals specified in clauses (i) through (v) of 
        paragraph (2)(B), to increase and diversify exports from Haiti 
        to the United States with the objectives of--
                    ``(A) increasing and diversifying export-oriented 
                value chains in Haiti through measures that enhance the 
                competitiveness of firms in Haiti;
                    ``(B) reinforcing the capacity of trade support 
                institutions to enhance the business climate in Haiti; 
                and
                    ``(C) developing utilization strategies for Haiti 
                to further explore export opportunities under United 
                States trade preference programs.
            ``(2) Requirements.--The Trade Representative--
                    ``(A) shall seek to coordinate with the 
                International Trade Center to develop and provide 
                technical assistance;
                    ``(B) shall establish a participatory process to 
                develop the technical assistance that includes--
                            ``(i) appropriate agencies of the 
                        Government of Haiti;
                            ``(ii) trade support institutions in Haiti;
                            ``(iii) employers in Haiti;
                            ``(iv) workers in Haiti; and
                            ``(v) labor unions in Haiti; and
                    ``(C) shall consult with the Committee on Ways and 
                Means of the House of Representatives and the Committee 
                on Finance of the Senate regarding the development and 
                provision of technical assistance.
            ``(3) Priority.--Technical assistance provided pursuant to 
        this subsection shall focus on--
                    ``(A) developing agricultural processing exports to 
                the United States;
                    ``(B) improving competitiveness and labor 
                compliance in the apparel sector;
                    ``(C) improving key services that support the 
                competitiveness of sectors with export potential to the 
                United States; and
                    ``(D) providing the institutional capacity for 
                government, non-profit, and private sector bodies to 
                increase and diversify exports to the United States.
            ``(4) Reports.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The President shall include in 
                each report required to be submitted to Congress under 
                section 163(a) of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 U.S.C. 
                2213(a)) the following:
                            ``(i) A description of the actions taken to 
                        provide technical assistance during the 
                        preceding calendar year, including metrics 
                        related to the outcomes achieved through such 
                        assistance.
                            ``(ii) A description of the actions taken 
                        regarding the participatory process under 
                        paragraph (3)(B) during the preceding calendar 
                        year, including an identification of the 
                        agencies, entities, and individuals specified 
                        in clauses (i) through (v) of paragraph (2)(B) 
                        that participated.
                    ``(B) Coordination.--The President shall seek to 
                coordinate with the International Trade Center in 
                carrying out this paragraph.
            ``(5) Definitions.--In this subsection--
                    ``(A) the term `International Trade Center'--
                            ``(i) means the joint agency of the United 
                        Nations Conference on Trade and Development and 
                        the World Trade Organization, originally 
                        established by the Contracting Parties of the 
                        General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade on March 
                        19, 1964, and from January 1, 1968, operated 
                        jointly with the United Nations Conference on 
                        Trade and Development; and
                            ``(ii) includes any subdivision, 
                        instrumentality, or designee thereof; and
                    ``(B) the term `trade support institutions' means 
                key actors that support the export-oriented business 
                climate, such as--
                            ``(i) the Haitian Ministry of Commerce and 
                        Industry;
                            ``(ii) the Haitian Chamber of Commerce and 
                        Industry; and
                            ``(iii) trade promotion organizations.''.
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