Bishop urges Congress to pass trade legislation favorable to Haiti

Published: 2006-03-02

WASHINGTON (CNS) -- The head of the U.S. bishops' Committee on International Policy has asked Congress to pass legislation granting preferential trade treatment to Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Haiti needs preferential treatment, especially to jump-start its clothing industry, if it is to attain economic and political stability after years of social turmoil, said Bishop Thomas G. Wenski of Orlando, Fla. Preferential treatment would also lay the groundwork for a return of the foreign investments Haiti needs to stimulate its economy, especially "the once vibrant apparel industry," he said in a letter to Rep. William Thomas, R-Calif., chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, which must approve the legislation before it can be sent to the full House for a vote. The letter, dated Feb. 24, was posted on the Web site of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Feb. 27.

Copyright (c) 2006 Catholic News Service /U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The CNS news report may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed, including but not limited to such means as framing or any other digital copying or distribution method, in whole or in part without the prior written authority of Catholic News Service .