At the seminar on "Trade Preferences and Free Zones in Haiti" which ended last Friday, Grégoire Avril he Executive Director of the Association Of Industries of Haiti (ADIH) predicted that with the HOPE Act and free zones, Haiti is in the process of regaining the 100,000 jobs that generated in the past the textile industries.

Through the HOPE Act, on the Haitian economy in 2011, the manufacturing sector, reported 701 million U.S. dollars in the country. This sector is the second provider of money after the diaspora, according to ADIH.

Currently, the manufacturing sector employs more than 30,000 people. Grégoire Avril noted that "The Haitian government should work to encourage more investors, reducing the cost of operation of the infrastructure, which is too high."

For its part, the Commercial Service of the U.S. Embassy believes that the HOPE Act offers great opportunities in Haiti. Representatives of the United States at this seminar, Ana Aslan and John Robinson, have however stressed the obligation made to the business leaders to respect the rights of workers not to lose the privileges granted by this Act and promised financial assistance from the U.S. government to the Ministry of Social Affairs under this Act.

Participants denounced in particular the low wages and poor working conditions of the workers. Some noted that the textile industry can be a real lever for development, but recognize that they contribute to the increase in the number of jobs in Haiti. They argue that the field of outsourcing, has many limitations.

See also :

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-7316-haiti-economy-trade-balance-a-deficit-of-about-140-billion-gourdes.html

HL/ HaitiLibre