By CHARLES T. MANATT

Washington is already embroiled in controversy over whether to grant China permanent normal trade status. Lost in this debate is another piece of trade legislation due for a House vote soon -- a bill to expand and strengthen the Caribbean Basin Initiative, which has promoted trade with Caribbean and Central American countries for nearly 20 years.

Last year the U.S. and the CBI region traded goods worth nearly $40 billion. That figure is sure to rise under the enhanced CBI legislation, which would give the Caribbean countries access to the U.S. apparel market similar to that Mexico and Canada already enjoy through the North American Free Trade Agreement. The bill is moving forward in Congress in tandem with another bill that would provide sub-Saharan African countries with similar trade preferences.

Opposition to both measures has come mainly from those who want to protect American apparel-manufacturing and textile jobs. No one wants to see Americans thrown out of work, but the good news is that enhanced CBI is beneficial to U.S. textile and apparel workers. Indeed, the American Apparel Manufacturers Association has endorsed this bill. One reason is that 85 percent of clothing manufactured in the Dominican Republic is made with U.S.-produced textiles. Without CBI, apparel production would inexorably shift to Asian factories, which would not use any U.S. textiles. On balance, then, passing CBI would likely save U.S. jobs -- especially since it would create more markets for U.S. goods. (In the Dominican Republic, 60 percent of all consumer goods sold are made in the United States.)

Apparel jobs mean a great deal to emerging economies like the Dominican Republic. The textile industry is the third-largest source of foreign income here, employing 140,000 Dominicans. The apparel industry was one of the reasons the region recovered so quickly after Hurricanes Georges and Mitch devastated much of the local agricultural production in 1998. Passage of CBI enhancement should create thousands more apparel jobs throughout the region. And it's not only the Dominican Republic that will benefit. Eighty percent of exports from Haiti, the region's poorest nation, are apparel-related.

Helping the Caribbean nations makes good sense from America's standpoint. As former White House Chief of Staff Leon Panetta stated in a speech here in January, the best way to assure U.S. national security is to strengthen emerging democracies and assure prosperity for all their citizens. With viable opportunities to improve the quality of life in their own countries, the people of the Caribbean will be far less likely to risk their lives in leaky boats in desperate and illegal attempts to come to the United States.

Most Caribbean countries have made great strides in economic and political reform, but there is considerable domestic resistance to further change. The Caribbean countries have a very narrow window of opportunity to prepare themselves to compete in the global economy. Congress can provide invaluable assistance by passing enhanced CBI.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Progress on implementing the goals established at each successive Summit of the Americas -- a series of conferences, first launched in 1994, for leaders of Western Hemisphere democracies -- is vital to protecting the political and economic interests of the region's citizens, says Peter Romero, acting assistant secretary of state for Western Hemisphere affairs.

Addressing the 18th Summit Implementation Review Group (SIRG) meeting at the Organization of American States (OAS) headquarters on April 7, Romero said that despite unprecedented prosperity in some sectors, "within our nations there exists a growing gap of inequality in education, income, technology, economic growth and rights." The chasm dividing the hemisphere's haves and have-nots is both unacceptable and dangerous, he cautioned, arguing that "unless we work to close that gap we leave our societies vulnerable to attacks of violence, corruption, narcotics, crime and instability."

Romero said that the next Summit, scheduled to take place in Quebec City in 2001, must focus on these inequities as a matter of critical importance. Yet such problems do not exist in isolation, he added, pointing out that widespread poverty can only be addressed in relation to other factors which exacerbate it. "In order to share prosperity in our societies, we need to create a strategy with a focus on democracy, labor and sustainable development," he said. "We see these issues as a priority for the Quebec City Summit, because they create a framework for all of us to achieve equality of opportunity, within and among our nations."

He warned that democracy, "the result of hard work and commitment by citizens and government, who keep a watchful eye to ensure its continuation," must be rigorously defended. And the health of the hemisphere's democracies is largely dependent on the economic health of the region, he observed. Investment in the labor force, Romero said, "attracts new technology and makes workers more productive -- and naturally, more productive workers earn more."

He also stressed that market-oriented policies must be pursued within a context of environmental safeguards to ensure long-term economic growth. Sustainable development is not only compatible with sound business practice, but actually reinforces it, Romero said. "Industry and pro-environment groups must see themselves as partners, and the Summit of the Americas is a forum for them both," he concluded.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Secretary of State Madeleine Albright has signed a five-year, $30 million program agreement with Edwin Carrington, Secretary General of the Caribbean Community, designed to encourage regional economic development in the Caribbean.

Albright said at a March 29 press conference in New Orleans after the signing that the agreement successfully carries forth the "cooperative process" initiated by President Clinton and his counterparts at the Bridgetown Summit in 1997. She said the agreement, to be administered by the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), builds on earlier efforts by the Caribbean Community to attract new investment and "broaden the foundation" of economies in the region, especially in the Windward Islands.

The agreement, Albright added, is also consistent with the Clinton Administration's effort to gain final approval of the Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI), which would, in part, provide enhanced market access in the United States to certain Caribbean products. The outlook for congressional passage of that "long-delayed initiative," Albright said, "is increasingly favorable."

According to a USAID fact sheet, activities under the new agreement will complement bilateral programs in Jamaica, Haiti, Guyana, and the Dominican Republic. However, the program will place special emphasis on those countries of the Windward Islands adversely affected by the loss or potential loss of preferential prices for bananas (St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Grenada, and Dominica.)

USAID said the program has three regional strategic objectives: increased employment and diversification in select non-traditional activities; improved environmental management by public and private entities; and increased effectiveness and efficiency of legal systems in the Caribbean.

USAID said the economic growth objective will complement the agency's other activities and Caribbean partner initiatives to increase trade, market access and competitiveness, and to diversify and deepen economic areas of competitive advantage, such as tourism, services, and non-traditional agriculture. The objective is to ensure participation of small, medium, and micro-enterprises and the application of sound environmental practices.

The environmental objective, USAID said, seeks to identify and act upon those environmental problems which are most closely linked to the region's and growth potential.

On the third objective, USAID said alternative dispute resolution, strengthened court registry systems, judicial training, the introduction of modern court reporting, and strengthening of the Regional Bar Association are all part of the effort to improve the Caribbean legal system.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- For Caribbean students, as for many of their international peers, there are tangible benefits to pursuing a higher education in the United States, say academic advisers who work with university-bound students from Caribbean nations.

These students often express strong interest in earning both undergraduate and advanced degrees from U.S. institutions, because credentials from a respected school in the United States "increase your [professional] marketability," according to Tara Leevy-Malcolm, a native of Dominica who is completing a master's degree from Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. Leevy-Malcolm, whose family is based in Kingston, Jamaica, came to the United States several months ago after being awarded a Fulbright scholarship.

"I learned of the [Fulbright] program through my parents," she said, explaining that her mother and father had seen a printed announcement which they brought to her attention. "The scholarships are advertised in the local newspaper" in Kingston, she added. Majoring in international and comparative law, with a focus on trade and finance, she expects to graduate in May.

At age 27, Leevy-Malcolm is an attorney who practiced law and lectured on legal matters before arriving in Washington to further her studies. "In the Caribbean, law is part of the undergraduate program," she said, because "we follow the British Commonwealth [educational] system." Once she has finished the one-year master's program at Georgetown, Leevy-Malcolm said she will return to Jamaica, where she hopes "to be able to contribute in the area of Caribbean jurisprudence" as a trade negotiator.

Asked about the value of her Fulbright experience, Leevy-Malcolm said she is firmly convinced that the scholarship has enhanced her career prospects. "I am interested in anything that allows me to develop expertise in my field," she said, "and I do have many more options now." She described herself as "really impressed" by the quality of instruction at Georgetown University. Her professors "have been fantastic; I'm really happy to be studying here," she said.

Furthermore, she indicated that living in Washington has afforded her a better understanding of the United States. "From what I've seen, it's a very progressive society -- very pluralistic," Leevy-Malcolm said. She attributed the broadly tolerant nature of U.S. society -- as well as its dynamism -- to a population that encompasses virtually every imaginable ethnic group. And despite numerous differences between Jamaica and the United States, she said she perceives certain important similarities as well: both countries are English-speaking, and both "have legal systems derived from the English model."

In sum, Leevy-Malcolm said she would "definitely encourage" other Caribbean nationals to study in the United States. While speculating that "Fulbrighters are perhaps chosen for their initiative, creativity and drive," she emphasized that Fulbright participation is reserved for graduate students and that undergraduates must explore other opportunities.

And those opportunities do exist, said Haiti's Marie-Lourdes Elgirus, a part-time educational adviser in Port-au-Prince. During her six years of working with Haitian students hoping to attend U.S. colleges and universities, Elgirus estimates that she has managed to place an average of 300 students annually in American schools. She conducts an orientation session, free of charge, on the first Wednesday of each month at the public-diplomacy compound of the U.S. Embassy -- to teach students how to use reference materials (particularly information available on the Internet), to help them select schools that are best suited to their needs, to prepare them for taking tests that are required for admission to U.S. universities, and to guide them through the intricacies of the admissions process itself.

Most of the students she deals with are undergraduates, Elgirus said, and most have some familiarity with Internet research methods. "There are a lot of cyber-café outlets in Haiti," she said, and students congregate there in large numbers. Elgirus conceded that scholarships and financial aid are often hard to come by, and that the majority of her students rely on family resources to cover tuition costs. She said she worries that "it is becoming more difficult for Haitian students to come to the U.S. because of the devaluation of the [Haitian] dollar," but the incentive to study in the United States remains powerful because "it is much easier for [Haitians] to find jobs with a U.S. diploma." Moreover, she pointed out, many U.S. schools aggressively recruit international students -- and welcome them enthusiastically.

The proximity of the Caribbean to the United States is another attractive feature to students weighing the advantages of a U.S. education. With a sizable Caribbean presence in such U.S. cities as New York, Miami and Washington, D.C., cultural and family ties between Caribbean countries and the United States are flourishing; Elgirus said that Haitian students frequently have relatives in the United States, and that this helps them adjust to their new surroundings. The enrollment of Caribbean students in U.S. colleges and universities undoubtedly reinforces those ties, she observed, and promotes greater cultural awareness.

Currently in the process of transferring her student-advising program to a school in Port-au-Prince, Elgirus said that she will continue to work individually with students to help them achieve their goals. She also said that the students she counsels are highly motivated, "working hard at [American] universities and earning very good grades."

This view was echoed by Cathy Jerome, president of the Haitian Student Association at Howard University in Washington, D.C. The Miami-born daughter of Haitian immigrants to the United States, Jerome said that there are a great many high achievers from Caribbean countries at her school -- and that these Caribbean students form a close-knit community in the Washington area. Students of Caribbean origin at Howard University pursue a wide array of academic majors, she said, mentioning political science, medicine, law, engineering, business, economics and computer-related fields as among the most popular subjects of concentration. She herself will graduate in December 2001 with a degree in international business, and expects to go on to law school where she will be trained as an entertainment/sports lawyer.

Dr. Ransford Palmer, a Jamaican-born professor of economics at Howard University, said that most Caribbean undergraduates at Howard pay their own way -- but that graduate students may have the option of earning tuition credits as professors' assistants. In addition, he noted that many advanced-degree candidates are able to find on-campus employment. Some financial aid is available to international students at Howard University after they complete their freshman year, although recipients are generally required to supplement these funds to cover their remaining expenses.

Statistics reveal that "there are now 11,884 Caribbean students in the United States," said Mary Ashley, director of the U.S. State Department's Office of Global Educational Programs. Of these, "nearly 80 percent are undergraduates -- 9,471 overall," she added.

To accommodate the tremendous interest expressed by Caribbean students and their parents in U.S. higher education, there are a network of State Department-affiliated student advising centers in the Caribbean, providing students "with comprehensive and unbiased information about study opportunities in the United States," said Sharen Sheehan, a program officer at the State Department's Educational Information and Resources Branch. Furthermore, she said, "most of the professional advisers in the Caribbean host education fairs which attract large crowds of students and [university] exhibitors," to help students decide what schools might be most compatible with their objectives.

As evidence overwhelmingly suggests, U.S. colleges and universities can provide valuable opportunities to Caribbean students seeking to prepare themselves for success in their chosen fields -- and student advisers agree that these schools are actively competing to admit them in ever-greater numbers.

Following are Internet sites with information for international students:

http://www.iie.org/latinamerica/reac/

(Regional Educational Adviser for Mexico, Latin America and the Caribbean, which offers a list of student advising centers in the Caribbean

http://e.usia.gov/education/advise/usadvis.htm

(State Department's Educational Information and Resources Branch)

http://www.finaid.org

http://www.collegeboard.org

http://www.iie.org

http://www.kaplan.com

http://www.petersons.com http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/concline/pubs/alerts/ouchalrt.htm

http://www.iie.org/latinamerica/cyberben/

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Many countries now experiencing recession in Latin America and the Caribbean should show a "gradual" economic recovery in 2000-2001, the World Bank says in a new report.

The Bank says in "Global Economic Prospects and the Developing Countries 2000" that external forces behind the rebound include an acceleration of world trade, stabilization of commodity prices, a recovery in capital flows, greater exchange-rate flexibility in many countries, and less external debt amortization in 2000.

On the domestic side, the Bank said lower domestic interest rates and higher stock market valuations should support economic stabilization and a consequent upturn in production.

But the gains will only be modest, the Bank said, because fiscal tightening is required in such countries as Argentina, Colombia, Ecuador, Venezuela and perhaps Brazil to sustain investor confidence and help exchange-rate stability.

Another reason, the Bank said, is that political uncertainties are likely to persist into 2000 as Mexico and Peru elect new presidents; also, many new administrations lack clear majorities in their respective congresses, such as in Brazil, Colombia and Ecuador.

In addition, an "expected slowdown" in the United States in 2000-2001 could restrain Latin America's export growth, the Bank said.

The combination of all these factors is likely to lead to a modest economic recovery, with the region's gross domestic product growing by 2.7 percent in 2000 before accelerating toward 3.5 percent in 2001, the Bank predicted.

The Bank said longer-term growth prospects after 2001 -- in contrast with the 1980s and 1990s -- are favorable. The privatization of large state enterprises in the water, electricity, transportation and telecommunications sectors should begin to "bear fruit" into the first decade of the 2000s, the Bank said.

Privatization, combined with the increasing market power of the Southern Cone countries through Mercosur -- the South American common market -- should encourage foreign investment, the Bank said.

Globally, the Bank predicted that average growth rates for developing countries are likely to reach 4.6 percent in 2000, and climb slightly higher to 4.8 percent in 2001-2002 as their economies start to recover from the 1997-1999 world financial crisis.

However, the Bank warned that not all developing countries will benefit equally in this recovery.

The Bank said growth will be fastest in those countries that rely more heavily on trade, are more diversified, receive more foreign direct investment, and in those that have achieved greater competitiveness.

The report said several developing economies in East Asia, and in Brazil and Mexico, exhibit two or more of these attributes, while China and India, with 46 percent of the world's developing country population and 55 percent of the poor, are also expected to sustain fairly rapid growth while grappling with domestic reform issues.

The report is available on the World Bank web site at <http://www.worldbank.org/prospects/>.

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Some 300 participants gathered April 6-7 in San Jose, Costa Rica, for a conference focusing on the media's role in fighting corruption in the Americas.

"The Central American Conference on Anti-Corruption: The Role of the Media," sponsored by the Organization of American States' (OAS) Trust for the Americas, was billed as the first in a series of regional events designed for journalists, government officials, corporations, non-governmental organizations, and multilateral groups on the fight against regional corruption.

Participants included Richard Werksman, senior anti-corruption advisor at the State Department, George Muñoz, president of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, and OAS Secretary General Cesar Gaviria. Other speakers included the presidents of Costa Rica and Panama, the prime minister of Belize, the vice president of Nicaragua, and government ministers from Guatemala and the Dominican Republic.

Supporting organizations, which include the World Bank, the American Chamber of Commerce of Costa Rica, and the Carter Center of Atlanta, Georgia, said working panels explored the social and environmental effects of corruption from the perspectives of the media, civil society, the private sector, and the government. The conference is being complemented by a two-week training seminar for about 50 journalists on the coverage of corruption and governance issues, organizers said.

The Trust for the Americas is a non-profit organization established in 1997 to create public-private partnerships for the OAS and to implement the mandates of the Summit of the Americas.

At the same time, a regional seminar on the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) and the opportunities it provides to the Central American business community was launched April 6 in Guatemala City and April 7 in Managua, and included participants from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and government officials from regional ministries of trade, industry and economics.

Sponsored by business groups in Central America, the seminars will continue in May in Honduras, June in El Salvador, and July in Costa Rica.

Topics to be discussed include a progress report on the FTAA, and the business opportunities offered under the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Another conference dealing with Central America was also held April 6-7 in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. Hosted by the Inter-American Dialogue of Washington, the Conference on Central American Regional Cooperation and Global Integration brought together hemispheric business leaders to promote cooperation among the countries of Central America, and to explore ways to more effectively integrate the region's economies into the North American and global economies.

USTR reviews compliance with telecom accords

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- U.S. Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky has set a July 28 deadline for deciding whether to take action in the World Trade Organization (WTO) against Mexico over unfair barriers in telecommunications trade.

In an April 4 press release, Barshefsky announced the results of the annual review under Section 1377 of the 1988 Trade Act of trading partners' compliance with telecom trade agreements.

"In Mexico," she said, "it appears that progress towards a level playing field for telecommunications carriers now is stalled."

She said Mexico's heavily subsidized former state monopoly Telmex continues to frustrate competitors by denying use of certain essential facilities to them.

Barshefsky released March 30 the results of the review concerning Japan. The April 4 announcement covered Mexico, South Africa, Peru, Germany, Canada, the United Kingdom and Israel.

The press release said Barshefsky's office set deadlines for further review of June 15 for Germany, South Africa and the United Kingdom; July 28 for Japan and Mexico, and October 2 for Canada and Peru.

It said Israel has committed to eliminate one unfair barrier by the end of 2001.