Minister of Trade and Industry, James Monazard•©️MCI
Port-au-Prince, December 17, 2025.- Bill H.R. 6504, unanimously adopted in committee in the American House of Representatives, opens the way for the renewal of the HOPE/HELP program for three years. The Haitian Minister of Trade and Industry, James Monazard, expressed confidence in the outcome of the process, while calling for urgent diversification of the Haitian economy.
The Haitian government welcomes with optimism the adoption on 10 December of Bill H.R. 6504, Haiti Economic Lift Program Extension Act by the U.S. House of Representatives Ways and Means Commission. The text, unanimously voted by 41 elected Republicans and Democrats, provides in particular for the extension for three years of the preferential programmes HOPE/HELP, pillars of the Haitian textile sector.
Speaker on Magik 9, Minister James Monazard believes that this broad political consensus is a strong signal for the continuation of the legislative process, particularly in the U.S. Senate. « These parliamentarians, from different political camps, will be able to defend the text since they have already approved it in committee. », he stressed.
In the short term, the renewal of HOPE/HELP is expected to save thousands of jobs, while the textile sector is experiencing a sharp erosion of its workforce. However, the Minister recognizes the structural limitations of this model. « No country can satisfy itself sustainably with a predominantly textile economy »he said, while citing the example of Bangladesh, which has been able to use the sector as a stepping stone to wider development.
James Monazard argued for a more ambitious, diversification-oriented economic strategy. According to him, the cyclical repetition of lobbying efforts for HOPE/HELP reveals little added value in the long term. « The responsibility of the State and the private sector is to put in place genuine development plans »he stressed, referring in particular to renewable energy, agriculture and tourism as promising sectors.
In the medium to long term, the Minister is a condition for any sustainable recovery to improve security and to ensure balanced territorial development. Finally, he called for employment to be a central lever of social justice, believing that rational exploitation of regional potential remained the only viable way out of the crisis.
W.A.
