Congressional Record, Volume 168 Issue 114 (Tuesday, July 12, 2022)

[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 114 (Tuesday, July 12, 2022)]
[House]
[Pages H5949-H5951]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

REAFFIRMING THE ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND THE
CARIBBEAN NATIONS AND RECOGNIZING THE NEED TO STRENGTHEN TRADE AND
INVESTMENT BETWEEN THE UNITED STATES AND THE CARIBBEAN NATIONS, OUR
``THIRD BORDER''

Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to
the resolution (H. Res. 1168) reaffirming the economic partnership
between the United States and the Caribbean nations and recognizing the
need to strengthen trade and investment between the United States and
the Caribbean nations, our ``Third Border'', as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
The text of the resolution is as follows:

H. RES. 1168

Whereas Congress commits to strengthening economic ties and
cooperation with the Caribbean people to promote equitable
economic growth and development across the region;
Whereas the Caribbean region has a population of
approximately 44,000,000 people, millions of people have
emigrated between the Caribbean and the United States, and
approximately 13,000,000 people in the United States, or 4
percent of the United States population, share Caribbean
ancestry;
Whereas it is in the national interest of the United States
to support the economic development of sovereign Caribbean
nations and territories;
Whereas greater opportunities for mutually beneficial trade
and investments promote economic growth, development, poverty
reduction, democracy, the rule of law, civil rights, and
overall stability;
Whereas regional and global integration with our Caribbean
neighbors should be strengthened to create decent jobs, boost
economic growth in the Caribbean and the United States, and
eliminate barriers to trade and investment in the Caribbean;
Whereas it remains the goal of the United States to support
diversification of Caribbean exports to the United States;
Whereas, in 1983, Congress launched the Caribbean Basin
Initiative (CBI) through the Caribbean Basin Economic
Recovery Act (CBERA) and expanded it in 2000 with the United
States-Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act (CBTPA);
Whereas the United States shares a history of struggle with
Caribbean neighbor countries, including with our courageous
sister nation of Haiti;
Whereas Haiti suffered destabilizing events in 2021,
including severe insecurity, a deadly earthquake, widespread
democratic protests, continuation of the COVID-19 pandemic,
and the assassination of President Jovenel Moise, all of
which have contributed to a governance and humanitarian
crisis that requires immediate further attention and support
from the United States and the global community;
Whereas specialized United States trade preferences with
Haiti, including the Haiti Economic Lift Program (HELP) and
Hemispheric Opportunity through Partnership Encouragement Act
(HOPE II) programs, aid Haiti's growing textile and apparel
manufacturing industry and are a critical source of steady
jobs for many Haitian people to support their families;
Whereas trade preference programs for the Caribbean and
Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries, such as the
Generalized System of Preferences, CBI, and CBTPA have
provided important economic benefits for Caribbean Basin
country economies, including by facilitating niche production
and more diversified exports, while also benefitting United
States businesses and workers, including by helping to add
value for customers and supporting United States jobs;
Whereas Caribbean people and their island nation economies
have led globally by exploring innovative economic strategies
to produce collective benefits for their communities, such as
through the Caribbean Catastrophe Risk Insurance Facility, to
reduce the economic impact of major disasters;
Whereas the United States seeks to prioritize and promote a
worker-centered trade agenda that facilitates trade and
protects freedom of association, fosters a sustainable
environment and climate path, advances racial equity and
supports underserved communities, addresses unfair economic
trade practices, supports domestic producers, and promotes
growth and development around the world;
Whereas the COVID-19 pandemic has negatively impacted the
public health and economies of the Caribbean and the United
States, which has also contributed to inequality within and
between nations, and further excluded vulnerable groups from
the benefits of trade and economic development;
Whereas the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the need to
strengthen supply chain resilience and increase near-shoring
in global trade;
Whereas the United States believes that free and fair trade
practices, economic growth, and stable domestic employment
foster democratic principles of good governance;
Whereas United States and Caribbean economic ties,
including through Caribbean services and manufacturing
sectors, produce critical goods and services for consumers
and jobs for workers that strengthen their economies;
Whereas such economic ties serve strategic purposes by
providing an alternative to potentially predatory economic
practices of other foreign governments, including non-market
economies, in the Caribbean that harm national and regional
interests in the Western Hemisphere;
Whereas climate change and natural disasters pose acute
risks for Caribbean people and island economies; and
Whereas the United States signed a Trade and Investment
Framework Agreement in

[[Page H5950]]

2013 with CARICOM to drive strengthened trade and investment
ties between CARICOM and the United States: Now, therefore,
be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) urges the President to prioritize and implement trade
programs with the Caribbean region that promote sustainable
and resilient economic development;
(2) commits to engaging directly with diverse stakeholders
from the Caribbean, including CARICOM Trade Ministers,
policymakers, as well as labor, business, and civil society
representatives, to dialogue and develop a shared
multilateral trade agenda;
(3) affirms trade and tariff preference programs that
strengthen the economic relationship between the Caribbean
and the United States and produce economic benefits for
people of all racial, ethnic, gender, ability, economic,
linguistic, and religious backgrounds;
(4) encourages further enhancing trade programs between the
Caribbean and the United States; and
(5) supports critical trade policies and preference
programs, such as HELP and HOPE II, and further commits to
strengthen those policies to ensure they advance sustainable
economic development, produce positive economic benefits in
Haiti, the Caribbean, and the United States, and protect our
most vulnerable communities.

The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from
the Virgin Islands (Ms. Plaskett) and the gentleman from Nebraska (Mr.
Smith) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands.

General Leave

Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks
and include extraneous materials on the bill under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands?
There was no objection.
Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, let me begin by commending my colleagues on both sides
of the aisle, Representatives Wenstrup, Sewell, and Blumenauer, and
indeed the membership of the Ways and Means Committee collectively, for
joining me in support of U.S. trade and economic relations with our
Caribbean neighbors.
This resolution is the product of a year's worth of work, and today
would not be possible without the bipartisan support of my colleagues
from across the aisle, particularly Representative Wenstrup, and his
leadership, and our shared commitment to a focus on U.S. trade
engagement with the Caribbean.
This resolution commits to enhance the economic partnership between
the United States and the Caribbean region through strengthened trade
engagement, including by promoting economic growth and development
across the region, engaging directly with diverse stakeholders from the
Caribbean, and supporting critical trade policies and preference
programs.
The Caribbean, along with Latin America, has experienced significant
challenges in recent years. According to the International Monetary
Fund, IMF, we have seen a larger GDP contraction from the region than
any other place in the world. Simultaneously, per capita deaths from
COVID have been greater from the Caribbean and Latin America than any
other region in the world. Furthermore, many of the islands and
countries in the Caribbean have also experienced severe natural
disasters, such as the recent earthquake in Haiti and numerous other
extreme weather events like hurricanes.
So this resolution simply expresses support for furthering U.S. trade
ties and economic relations with the Caribbean region. Overall, the
resolution expresses the importance of the existing economic
partnerships between the United States and the Caribbean region and
strengthening U.S. trade and investment ties with the region.
Presently, the U.S. does about $35 billion in trade with the region,
and American businesses can have a greater opportunity to grow in the
region with our help.
Deepening economic ties between the U.S. and the Caribbean region
helps American partnerships across the Western Hemisphere, where we
support budding democracies at our doorstep and create mutually
beneficial economic stability with our neighbors. Reciprocal trade is
one of the mechanisms we pursue to do that.
Our overall trade agenda was well served by agreements like the 2013
Trade and Investment Framework Agreement between the U.S. and the
Caribbean Community, CARICOM, as well as important trade promotion
programs like the U.S.-Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act and the
HOPE/HELP trade preference programs for Haiti.
The Ways and Means Committee will be taking a hard look at what is
needed for the Caribbean. As this resolution provides, we will engage
with diverse stakeholders, including CARICOM trade ministers,
policymakers, as well as labor, business, and civil society
representatives, to dialogue and develop a shared multilateral trade
agenda.
The trade programs that we have for the Caribbean, especially the
Caribbean Basin Initiative programs like CBTPA preference programs,
along with HOPE/HELP for Haiti, have historically enjoyed bipartisan
and bicameral support, in part because of the shared history and close
ties that the United States has with the Caribbean region.
I am pleased that this resolution also indicates how important the
HOPE/HELP trade promotion program is for our sister nation of Haiti. I
am committed to strengthening and renewing this program in a timely
fashion.
Like any good trading relationship, we must continue to work to
improve labor conditions, political stability, and especially to expand
economic development to all countries in the important region of the
Caribbean.
President Bush recognized the importance of this region by naming it
as our ``Third Border.''
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this resolution. The
month of June was Caribbean American Heritage Month. There are about 13
million Americans who have Caribbean ancestry here in this country.
They represent 4 percent of the American population. This is an
opportunity for us to reaffirm this community and demonstrate to our
neighboring nations in the Caribbean that we are committed to working
together to improve trade and economic conditions.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. SMITH of Nebraska. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H. Res. 1168.
I thank Dr. Wenstrup and Representative Plaskett for their work on
this bipartisan resolution. This measure affirms the importance of U.S.
economic partnerships in the Western Hemisphere and, more specifically,
with nations in the Caribbean region.
Over the last two decades, economic partnerships and trade programs
have created job opportunities for Caribbean workers and innovators,
provided incentives for nations to strengthen the rule of law, and
provided new market opportunities for American businesses.
While this resolution highlights the importance of existing trade
programs in the region, it also encourages further enhancements to
these trade programs.
I have said it before, and I will say it again: If we are not
proactive in engaging with our trading partners in the region and
around the world, others who do not share our values, our respect for
economic freedom and the rule of law, or our interest in regional
stability and growth, will.

By engaging and fostering trade with our Caribbean neighbors, we will
strengthen and make the Western Hemisphere more competitive as a region
as China tries to seize even more of the global market share.
I look forward to working with the sponsors to use trade as a key
tool in strengthening the region.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. PLASKETT. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself the balance of my time.
Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from Nebraska for his words, and I
indeed recognize with him the importance of American engagement in the
region. As Americans, this is our border. We must be engaged in the
region so that others do not usurp our authority, our position in the
region, and so our American businesses can grow as well. Economic
development in this area is in the best interest of the United States.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this measure, and I
yield back the balance of my time.

[[Page H5951]]

The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentlewoman from the Virgin Islands (Ms. Plaskett) that the House
suspend the rules and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 1168, as
amended.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Mr. GOOD of Virginia. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and
nays.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to section 3(s) of House Resolution
8, the yeas and nays are ordered.
Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further proceedings on this motion
are postponed.

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