South Korean garment firm Sae‑A receives US State Dept, USAID, and World Bank IFC support for Haiti industrial park

10 key sil Fa ell el a en ee, | NL. AY TTA Centre De Formation Technique Pour L’Avancement Des Jeunes Du Sud’Est Inc. Results Research and Market (2010) research identified the global plan of South Korean company, Sae-A Trading Company Limited, that has built an industrial park and garment making operation in Haiti with the financial support of the World Bank's IFC financing arm and the U.S. State Department. This has provided an initial 20,000 people jobs. Furthermore, A USAID funded Apparel Training Center opened its doors in August 2010 to assist in the training of individuals to rebuild the industrial garment industry in Haiti. Both projects have received the full backing of the Haitian government as well as the U.S. government. There were various investigations and researches aimed to identify the best areas to invest and market opportunities in Haiti. In order to combine and identify the main trends, the most reliable and authoritative sources were selected and investigated. The list given below provides the summary of the findings: e Apparel sector, agribusiness, electronics (US Trade and Developing Agency cited by Fagenson, n.d.); e Apparel, agribusiness, and tourism (Haitian Investment Facilitation Center, 2010); e Apparel (Research and Marketing, 2010); e Development and trade of raw and processed agricultural products; medical supplies and equipment; rebuilding and modernizing Haiti's depleted infrastructure; developing tourism and allied sectors--including arts and crafts; and improving capacity in waste disposal, transportation, energy, telecommunications, and export assembly operations (U.S.. Department of State, 2008). e Apparel, telecommunications, reforestation, agribusiness, call centers (Clinton, 2010). According to Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act (CBTPA) act, a U.S. company has duty-free export of many Haitian products assembled from U.S. components or materials. Therefore, U.S. companies can outsource labor force from Haiti and experience exclusion from taxes in Haiti. Moreover, they would have less transportation expenses if compared to China, Vietnam, or Tatwan. The HOPE and HOPE II (Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity through Partnership Encouragement) Act is another positive legal document for the businesses from the U.S. According to this act, there ate additional duty-free preferences for qualifying apparel/textiles products and automotive wire harnesses. Additionally, The Haitian Economic Lift Program (HELP) Act that was passed in May 2010 expands the duty-free treatment of imported apparel made in Haiti or the Dominican Republic. These new regulations are developed to attract large corporations and apparel manufacturers, especially from South Korea and Brazil (U.S. Department of State, 2010; PRS Group, 2005; Research and Markets, 2010). PO Box 666 Brentwood, NY 11717 © Phone (631) 273-4100 © Fax (631) 273-4111 © [email protected] © Wwww.cefotaj.org HOUSE_OVERSIGHT_019457