ITC report: Caribbean trade pact benefits could be significant

ITC report: Andean trade pact has little impact on U.S.economy    A report released by the U.S. International Trade Commission concluded that the benefits of the Caribbean Basin Economic Recovery Act (CBERA) could be significant with the future effects in textiles and apparel trade.
   The report, available on the agency’s Web site (www.usitc.gov), said the impact of the trade pact on the U.S. economy has been small.
   The CBERA was amended in 2000 by the Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act (CBTPA), which broadened the scope of the products eligible for tariff preferences. The Act was further adjusted in the 2002 Trade Act.
   Total U.S. imports from CBERA beneficiary countries amounted to $21.3 billion in 2002 of which $10 billion, or 47 percent, entered under CBERA preferences.
   “While the introduction of CBTPA resulted in a $7.2 billion increase in the value of U.S. imports under the CBERA program from 2000 to 2002, total imports from CBERA countries actually decreased 4.1 percent during the same period,” the ITC said.