President Donald Trump has signed into law H.R. 991, the bipartisan Extension of the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act. Representatives Brad Wenstrup (R-OH) and Terri Sewell (D-AL) sponsored the legislation, which extends the expiring Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act (CBTPA) through 2030.
“This extension of the CBTPA is a big deal for workers and employers in southern and southwestern Ohio as well as for America’s economic and diplomatic relations with our neighboring countries. I’m grateful to President Trump for signing this legislation into law and to Congresswoman Sewell for her cooperation on this important bipartisan initiative,” Wenstrup said.
“We are grateful for Representative Brad Wenstrup’s leadership, working with Representative Terri Sewell, to secure passage of a critical trade program for Haiti and other Caribbean countries. Haiti is an integral part of Cintas’ Western Hemisphere supply chain,” said Kevin Bien, senior vice president of Supply Chain for Cintas. “Because of the programs enacted by Congress, Cintas has built strong partnerships in Haiti which enable us to supply our customers great value in a timely manner. The 10-year extension of CBTPA is especially important as companies such as Cintas deal with the economic challenges resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.”
CBTPA works in conjunction with the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (CBERA) to facilitate the development of 17 independent countries of the Caribbean Basin region. For these two preferential trade programs to be effective, both CBTPA and CBERA must be authorized.
Eligible CBERA countries include Antigua and Barbuda, Aruba, the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, the British Virgin Islands, Curaçao, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, and the Grenadines and Trinidad and Tobago.
