LatinNews Daily - 25 March 2010

Haiti: On March 22 the former US Presidents Bill Clinton and George W Bush visited Haiti. Following the devastating 12 January earthquake on the island (with 222,500 fatalities), Clinton and Bush established 'The Fund for Haiti' at the request of President Barack Obama. The pair met President René Préval to discuss the management of emergency funds and the potential for future investment. Clinton, the UN special envoy for Haiti, said that the talks centred on Haiti's long term aid and development requirements. The Hemispheric Opportunity through Partnership Encouragement (HOPE) act was created in 2006 and implemented on 19 March 2007. HOPE I and II gave Haiti favourable tariffs and trading terms. Its aims were to assist progress toward a market-based economy, increasing employment, enhancing rule of law and protection of human rights. It also provided duty-free entry to the US for garments manufactured in Haiti. Clinton stated that alternations to the existing HOPE legislation could lead to Brazilian and Korean investment in the textile sector. He said he intended to quickly mobilise bipartisan support to get these changes approved by congress, in an effort to create “more than 100,000 jobs in Haiti in short order".

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