Above: an atelier in Haiti (Photo: Clinton Bush Haiti Fund)

By the Caribbean Journal staff

United States imports of Haitian apparel jumped by 46 percent from January to August of this year, according to the recently-released Ninth Report to Congress on the Operation of the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act.

Apparel accounts for more than 90 percent of US imports from Haiti, and accounts for the vast majority of Haitian exports, according to the report, which was prepared by the Office of the United States Trade Representative.

The January 2010 earthquake had slowed the growth of imports of apparel under preferential tariffs under the Caribbean Basin Initiative.

The CBI currently provides 17 countries and dependent territories with duty-free access to the US market for most goods.

Haiti has become the source of virtual all imports of apparel from Caribbean Basin Initiative countries to the US.