Wenstrup Introduces HOPE-HELP Renewal
Rep. Brad Wenstrup, R-Ohio, introduced a bill to extend HOPE and HELP, two Haiti-specific trade preferences, even though they don't expire until 2025.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Export Compliance Daily combines U.S. export control news, foreign border import regulation and policy developments into a single daily information service that reliably informs its trade professional readers about important current issues affecting their operations.
If it doesn't pass, such a bill would have to be reintroduced next year, since all bills that have not passed expire at the end of this Congress.
Wenstrup, who introduced the bill Dec. 7, suggested the lapse of the Generalized System of Preferences benefits program and the Miscellaneous Tariff Bill could make businesses question whether HOPE and HELP will continue, and therefore, chill investment in Haiti.
"Renewing these trade preferences well ahead of the 2025 extension will ensure there is no disruption in trade flows, and give businesses the confidence to move their supply chains to Haiti rather than continuing to rely on adversarial nations like China," his press release asserted.
"Our friends and neighbors in Haiti are experiencing a horrific humanitarian crisis as a result of gang violence and political instability. By extending the Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity through Partnership Encouragement (HOPE) Act and the Haiti Economic Lift Program (HELP) Act, the United States can send an uplifting message of support to the Haitian people, and that is why I believe it is more important than ever that the U.S. be willing to provide a certain and steady hand as Haiti works to rebound from the current crisis and emerge stronger," Wenstrup said in the press release. "Not only will this legislation support Haiti, the HOPE-HELP preferences are important for the U.S. economy and will continue the work Congress is doing to near-shore our supply chains and diversify away from unreliable trading partners like China. I look forward to working with my colleagues on the Ways and Means Committee to build bipartisan support for renewing and building on this important trade program."