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[Congressional Bills 111th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2978 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

111th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2978

  To extend the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act, to extend the 
trade preferences made available to Haiti under that Act, to encourage 
          foreign investment in Haiti, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            February 2, 2010

   Mr. Wyden (for himself and Mr. Nelson of Florida) introduced the 
 following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 
                                Finance

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
  To extend the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act, to extend the 
trade preferences made available to Haiti under that Act, to encourage 
          foreign investment in Haiti, 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 ``Renewing Hope for Haitian Trade and 
Investment Act of 2010''.

SEC. 2. TRADE FACILITATION EFFORTS IN HAITI.

    The Secretary of Homeland Security, acting through the Commissioner 
responsible for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, shall commit 
sufficient resources from U.S. Customs and Border Protection--
            (1) to, working with the commercial attache from the United 
        States assigned to Haiti, enhance commercial assistance to 
        facilitate trade between Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and the 
        United States, as envisioned in section 213A of the Caribbean 
        Basin Economic Recovery Act (19 U.S.C. 2703a), as added by the 
        Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity Through Partnership Act of 2006 
        (title V of division D of Public Law 109-432; 120 Stat. 3181) 
        and amended by the Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity Through 
        Partnership Act of 2008 (part I of subtitle D of title XV of 
        Public Law 110-246; 122 Stat. 2289);
            (2) to facilitate the preclearance of valid cargo destined 
        for the United States from Haiti and promote the efficient and 
        secure movement of articles entering the United States pursuant 
        to such section 213A; and
            (3) to provide technical assistance and training to the 
        customs service of Haiti to improve production validation and 
        compliance and understanding of the customs procedures of the 
        United States, such as the Electronic Visa Information System.

SEC. 3. EXTENSION OF THE CARIBBEAN BASIN ECONOMIC RECOVERY ACT.

    Section 213(b) of the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (19 
U.S.C. 2703(b)) is amended--
            (1) in paragraph (2)(A)--
                    (A) in clause (iii)--
                            (i) in subclause (II)(cc), by striking 
                        ``2010'' and inserting ``2013''; and
                            (ii) in subclause (IV)(dd), by striking 
                        ``2010'' and inserting ``2013''; and
                    (B) in clause (iv)(II), by striking ``8'' and 
                inserting ``11''; and
            (2) in paragraph (5)(D)(i), by striking ``2010'' and 
        inserting ``2013''.

SEC. 4. EXTENSION OF VALUE-ADDED RULE OF ORIGIN FOR APPAREL AND OTHER 
              TEXTILE ARTICLES IMPORTED FROM HAITI.

    Section 213A of the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (19 
U.S.C. 2703a) is amended--
            (1) in subsection (a)(1)--
                    (A) by amending subparagraph (A) to read as 
                follows:
                    ``(A) In general.--The term `applicable 1-year 
                period' means--
                            ``(i) the initial applicable 1-year period;
                            ``(ii) the 1-year period beginning on the 
                        day after the last day of the initial 
                        applicable 1-year period; and
                            ``(iii) any 1-year period thereafter.''; 
                        and
                    (B) by striking subparagraphs (C) through (F);
            (2) in subsection (b)--
                    (A) in paragraph (1)--
                            (i) in subparagraph (B)--
                                    (I) in clause (iv)(II), by striking 
                                ``each of the second, third, fourth, 
                                and fifth applicable 1-year periods'' 
                                and inserting ``any applicable 1-year 
                                period after the initial applicable 1-
                                year period''; and
                                    (II) in clause (v)(I)--
                                            (aa) in item (aa), by 
                                        striking ``, the second 
                                        applicable 1-year period, and 
                                        the third applicable 1-year 
                                        period'' and inserting ``and 
                                        each applicable 1-year period 
                                        thereafter through the 
                                        applicable 1-year period 
                                        beginning on December 20, 
                                        2010'';
                                            (bb) in item (bb), by 
                                        striking ``the fourth 
                                        applicable 1-year period'' and 
                                        inserting ``the applicable 1-
                                        year period beginning on 
                                        December 20, 2011''; and
                                            (cc) in item (cc), by 
                                        striking ``the fifth applicable 
                                        1-year period'' and inserting 
                                        ``each applicable 1-year period 
                                        beginning on or after December 
                                        20, 2012''; and
                            (ii) in subparagraph (C)--
                                    (I) by striking the table and 
                                inserting the following:

 
                     ``During:                                     the corresponding percentage is:
 
the initial applicable 1-year period...............  1 percent.
each applicable 1-year period after the initial      1.25 percent.''; and
 applicable 1-year period..........................
 

                                    (II) in the flush text, by striking 
                                ``the last day of the fifth applicable 
                                1-year period'' and inserting 
                                ``December 19, 2013''; and
                    (B) in paragraph (2)--
                            (i) in subparagraph (A)(ii), by striking 
                        ``9'' and inserting ``13''; and
                            (ii) in subparagraph (B)(iii), by striking 
                        ``9'' and inserting ``13'';
            (3) in subsection (c), by striking ``5-year period'' and 
        inserting ``7-year period''; and
            (4) in subsection (h), by striking ``2018'' and inserting 
        ``2022''.

SEC. 5. HAITI RECOVERY AND INVESTMENT TASK FORCE.

    (a) In General.--There is established a task force, to be known as 
the ``Haiti Recovery and Investment Task Force'' (in this section 
referred to as the ``Task Force''), to--
            (1) facilitate--
                    (A) foreign direct investment in Haiti and the 
                provision of credit and finance for private-sector 
                investment in Haiti, including by reassessing and 
                addressing obstacles to affordable finance and credit 
                for persons seeking to invest in Haiti;
                    (B) the flow of remittances and investment to Haiti 
                by the Haitian-American community in the United States 
                and the Haitian Diaspora; and
                    (C) the provision of grants by international donors 
                and international financial institutions (as defined in 
                section 1701(c)(2) of the International Financial 
                Institutions Act (22 U.S.C. 262r(c)(2)) to the 
                Government of Haiti; and
            (2) work with the Government of Haiti to ensure that 
        investment in Haiti described in paragraph (1) supports Haiti's 
        long-term development needs and complements strategies 
        developed in Haiti's National Strategy for Growth and the 
        Reduction of Poverty, as set forth in the International 
        Monetary Fund Country Report Number 08/115.
    (b) Membership.--The Task Force shall be composed of the following 
officials or their designees:
            (1) The Secretary of the Treasury, who shall serve as the 
        chairperson of the Task Force.
            (2) The United States Trade Representative.
            (3) The Secretary of Commerce.
            (4) The President of the Overseas Private Investment 
        Corporation.
            (5) The Chairman of the Export-Import Bank.
    (c) Administration.--The Task Force shall--
            (1) periodically convene public hearings; and
            (2) establish procedures for the operation of the Task 
        Force that are transparent and encourage public participation.
    (d) Reports.--Not later than 180 days after the date of the 
enactment of this Act, and every 180 days thereafter, the Task Force 
shall submit to Congress a report containing--
            (1) an assessment of the progress made by the Task Force in 
        facilitating investment in Haiti and enabling Haiti to attract 
        foreign investment;
            (2) a description of obstacles to investment in Haiti 
        identified by the Task Force; and
            (3) any recommendations of the Task Force for enacting or 
        amending laws to facilitate investment in Haiti.
    (e) Termination Date.--The Task Force shall terminate on the date 
that is 12 years after the date of the enactment of this Act.

SEC. 6. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE REPORT ON THE EFFECTIVENESS OF 
              THE HOPE TRADE PREFERENCES.

    Not later than May 31, 2010, the Comptroller General of the United 
States shall submit to Congress a report that--
            (1) assesses the effectiveness of the trade preferences 
        under section 213A of the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act 
        (19 U.S.C. 2703a), as added by the Haitian Hemispheric 
        Opportunity Through Partnership Act of 2006 (title V of 
        division D of Public Law 109-432; 120 Stat. 3181) and amended 
        by the Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity Through Partnership Act 
        of 2008 (part I of subtitle D of title XV of Public Law 110-
        246; 122 Stat. 2289); and
            (2) makes recommendations for improving those trade 
        preferences, particularly with respect to measures to 
        facilitate the expansion of trade and increased employment in 
        Haiti following the January 2010 earthquake.
                                 <all>
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