FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
March 11, 1999
No. TR-5
Congressman Philip M. Crane (R-Il), Chairman of the Subcommittee on Trade of the Committee on Ways and Means, today announced that the Subcommittee will hold a hearing on the trade provisions of H.R. 984, the "Caribbean and Central American Relief and Economic Stabilization Act." The hearing will take place on Tuesday, March 23, 1999, in the main Committee hearing room, 1100 Longworth House Office Building, beginning at 1:00 p.m.
Oral testimony at this hearing will be heard from both invited and public witnesses. However, any individual or organization not scheduled for an oral appearance may submit a written statement for consideration by the Committee or for inclusion in the printed record of the hearing.
BACKGROUND:
The Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI) was established in 1983 by the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (CBERA) (P.L. 98-67). CBERA authorizes the President to grant duty-free treatment to the imports of eligible articles from designated Caribbean Basin countries. Originally proposed by President Reagan, the basic purpose of CBI was to respond to political turmoil and economic crisis in the Caribbean and Central America by encouraging the development of democratic governments and healthy economies through the expansion of trade.
In addition to helping to promote peace and democracy in the region, CBI has successfully served to expand U.S. exports. Prior to enactment of CBI and during the first three years the program was in effect, the United States ran a significant trade deficit with the Caribbean Basin region. In the fourth year of the program, the trade balance shifted in favor of the United States and has remained in surplus since that time. The current annual surplus is $1.2 billion. The region is one of the few in the world with which the United States has enjoyed a sustained favorable balance of trade. U.S. exports grew from $5.8 billion in 1983 to $17.8 billion in 1997.
Benefits under CBI are conditioned on countries continuing to meet seven mandatory and ten discretionary conditions, including intellectual property protection, investment protection, improved market access for U.S. exports, and whether the country is taking steps to afford internationally recognized worker rights.
H.R. 984 was introduced by Messrs. Crane, Kolbe, Rangel, and Matsui to respond to the immediate and long-term needs of Caribbean and Central American nations affected by the devastation caused by Hurricane Georges in September 1998 and Hurricane Mitch in October 1998. The bill would authorize bilateral and multilateral assistance for nations in the region. Title I of H.R. 984, the "United States-Caribbean Trade Partnership Act," offers additional incentives for economic development in the region through enhancement of the CBI trade program.
Approximately 68 percent of the value of imports from countries in the Caribbean Basin currently enter-duty free under CBERA and other preferential trade programs. However, a number of products, mainly textile and apparel articles, are excluded from CBI duty-free treatment all together. H.R. 984 amends the CBERA to provide trade benefits to products currently excluded from eligibility for duty-free treatment under the existing CBI program. Affecting about 32 percent of the imports from the CBI region, the preferential duty and quota treatment established by the bill, which is similar to the treatment accorded to imports of these products from Mexico, would be in effect for a period of five years.
In announcing the hearing, Chairman Crane stated: "As an ardent supporter of CBI, I think it is important that the Subcommittee review the state of economic development in these neighboring countries, particularly in light of the catastrophic damage done to housing and economic infrastructure by the recent hurricanes. If left unaddressed, the resulting economic dislocation being suffered in the region threatens the future of democratic governments there."
FOCUS OF THE HEARING:
The focus of the hearing will be to examine: (1) the success of the Caribbean Basin Initiative, (2) the state of economic development in the Caribbean Basin region following Hurricane Georges and Hurricane Mitch, and (3) the benefits and costs to U.S. national security interests, and to U.S. firms and workers, of enacting H.R. 984.
DETAILS FOR SUBMISSIONS OF REQUESTS TO BE HEARD:
Requests to be heard at the hearing must be made by telephone to Traci Altman or Pete Davila at (202) 225-1721 no later than the close of business, Tuesday, March 16, 1999. The telephone request should be followed by a formal written request to A.L. Singleton, Chief of Staff, Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives, 1102 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515. The staff of the Subcommittee on Trade will notify by telephone those scheduled to appear as soon as possible after the filing deadline. Any questions concerning a scheduled appearance should be directed to the Subcommittee on Trade staff at (202) 225-6649.
In view of the limited time available to hear witnesses, the Subcommittee may not be able to accommodate all requests to be heard. Those persons and organizations not scheduled for an oral appearance are encouraged to submit written statements for the record of the hearing. All persons requesting to be heard, whether they are scheduled for oral testimony or not, will be notified as soon as possible after the filing deadline.
Witnesses scheduled to present oral testimony are required to summarize briefly their written statements in no more than five minutes. THE FIVE-MINUTE RULE WILL BE STRICTLY ENFORCED. The full written statement of each witness will be included in the printed record, in accordance with House Rules.
In order to assure the most productive use of the limited amount of time available to question witnesses, all witnesses scheduled to appear before the Subcommittee are required to submit 200 copies, along with an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect 5.1 format, of their prepared statement for review by Members prior to the hearing. Testimony should arrive at the Subcommittee on Trade office, room 1104 Longworth House Office Building, no later than Friday, March 19, 1999. Failure to do so may result in the witness being denied the opportunity to testify in person.
DETAILS FOR SUBMISSION OF WRITTEN COMMENTS:
Any person or organization wishing to submit a written statement for the printed record of the hearing should submit six (6) single-spaced copies of their statement, along with an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect 5.1 format, with their name, address, and hearing date noted on a label, by the close of business, Tuesday, April 6, 1999, to A.L. Singleton, Chief of Staff, Committee on Ways and Means, U.S. House of Representatives, 1102 Longworth House Office Building, Washington, D.C. 20515. If those filing written statements wish to have their statements distributed to the press and interested public at the hearing, they may deliver 200 additional copies for this purpose to the Subcommittee on Trade office, room 1104 Longworth House Office Building, by close of business the day before the hearing.
FORMATTING REQUIREMENTS:
Each statement presented for printing to the Committee by a witness, any written statement or exhibit submitted for the printed record or any written comments in response to a request for written comments must conform to the guidelines listed below. Any statement or exhibit not in compliance with these guidelines will not be printed, but will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.
1. All statements and any accompanying exhibits for printing must be submitted on an IBM compatible 3.5-inch diskette in WordPerfect 5.1 format, typed in single space and may not exceed a total of 10 pages including attachments. Witnesses are advised that the Committee will rely on electronic submissions for printing the official hearing record.
2. Copies of whole documents submitted as exhibit material will not be accepted for printing. Instead, exhibit material should be referenced and quoted or paraphrased. All exhibit material not meeting these specifications will be maintained in the Committee files for review and use by the Committee.
3. A witness appearing at a public hearing, or submitting a statement for the record of a public hearing, or submitting written comments in response to a published request for comments by the Committee, must include on his statement or submission a list of all clients, persons, or organizations on whose behalf the witness appears.
4. A supplemental sheet must accompany each statement listing the name, company, address, telephone and fax numbers where the witness or the designated representative may be reached. This supplemental sheet will not be included in the printed record.
The above restrictions and limitations apply only to material being submitted for printing. Statements and exhibits or supplementary material submitted solely for distribution to the Members, the press, and the public during the course of a public hearing may be submitted in other forms.
The
Committee seeks to make its facilities accessible to persons with
disabilities. If you are in need of special accommodations, please
call 202-225-1721 or 202-226-3411 TTD/TTY in advance of the event
(four business days notice is requested). Questions with regard to
special accommodation needs in general (including availability of
Committee materials in alternative formats) may be directed to the
Committee as noted above.