Trade liberalization
The trade liberalization policies are strongly advocated and oftentimes mandated by international financial institutions. These institutions included entities like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank. The import tariff reduction outlined in these policies is vital contributions supported by these entities. The Haitian Government created a new agreement with the IMF in 1994, which cut the current import tax of 35% down to 3%. This lowered tariff ranked Haiti as the least restrictive country for trade. However, this has had little impact on boosting the Haitian economy. Haiti continues to be the least developed country in the western hemisphere. Particularly, it seems, because Haitian production of rice decreased exponentially. These tariffs created competition for rice that could not be met by locals. The rural population was hit the hardest by the tariff; there are few other employment opportunities for them. Rice produced by the United States has a large range of institutions to subsidize the production of the rice, whereas in Haiti the government does not provide the rice farmers with any subsidies to support the Haitian rice economy. There are no domestic institutions in Haiti that directly give aid or support to the struggling farmers. It is because of the U.S. subsidies and the Haitian lack of subsidies that many claim that the rice competition between the two countries resembles an instance on inequality. Haiti needs time to build resources and therefore their economy in order to garner a chance at competing in the world markets. More often than not a country needs protections in place to stabilize their contributions to the world market and as of right now, Haiti has none. The United States imposes excess rice onto the Haitian community because Haiti has little stature to impose their own. The United States has monopolized the rice market in Haiti. Their economic dominance in the country has created an unstable balance between the two countries. This is precisely why there are several Haitian and international NGOs accusing the United States of using Haiti as a disposal area for the cheap implementation of rice. There are economists and development workers who claim that the imbalance between theEnvironmental factors
Among the issue of trade liberalization is the environmental factors contributing to the decrease in rice production. Haitian rice farmers are normally more equipped to produce rice with techniques designed to yield the maximum amount of crops. The goal is the profit and there is often little regard for environmental factors. Much emphasis has been placed on short-term crop yield as opposed to issues such asOther issues
The final reasoning for a decline in rice production is the common issues surrounding many farmers in countries that are less developed. Oftentimes these issues are universal and can only contribute to the above-mentioned problems Haitian farmers are facing. The issues include the obvious issue of the lack of financial resources. Many farmers in Haiti do not have access to funds. More often than not, the capitol that these farmers are privy to is accompanied by extremely high interest rates. Along with this financial issue is the inability for many farmers to purchase a variety of rice. They are often subjected to a type of rice that is low-yielding for a lack of funds keeps them from the high-producing breed. An abundance of inefficient farming machines also contributes to the slow mobilization of rice in Haiti along with the lack of an adequate storage system. Farmers must sell rice immediately of cultivation and often the rice must be sold at a decreased price to ensure its location on the market. While there are other issues equated to farming inadequacies, the main issues have already been addressed.Impact
The health of the entire Haitian economy and society is threatened by the scarcity of the domestic rice trade. There is more than two-thirds of the Haitian population directly involved with rice production and countless more indirectly involved. Rice farmers, millers, and those in the rice trade number upwards of hundreds of thousands of people. This is why the collapse of the rice industry in Haiti is so detrimental to the entire population. Rice was once a staple crop in Haiti and now there are little quantities of rice that is grown in the country. Haiti is already plagued by high poverty rates and massive unemployment. The issue with the rice trade only threatens these situations even more. Eric Icart and James Trapp, researchers of agricultural and food price policy, concluded that “the level of farm income declined because of negative impacts on rural incomes.” “Farmers lost their businesses. People from the countryside started losing their jobs and moving to the cities. After a few years of cheap imported rice, local production went way down.” There are some farmers who look to other crops for employment but this only further enhances the decrease of domestic rice. These alternative crops often don't harvest many results and thus there are many fields that are abandoned by struggling Haitians. There are few opportunities for these farmers outside of the rice industry and immigration is often the last hope of prosperity. It is not uncommon for these farmers to move to Port-au-Prince, Haiti or to a surrounding country such as Caribbean or the Americas. It is very common for these migrating Haitians to become involved in the informal work force. This is because it hard to find adequate work in for a living wage. Factories are often explored but many are overwhelmingly occupied. Even when locating a job, these immigrants often work for very low wages in conditions that are not favorable. It is not uncommon for Haitians to illegally immigrate due to the inability to secure work visa for many poor rural Haitians. In many ways, they face a harsher risk leaving Haiti than those who choose to stay. Those traveling into another country illegally often choose to arrive on a boat. However, the boats have been proven to be extremely dangerous and there is a large percentage of Haitians who die at sea in an attempt to reach their destination. There was one instance that occurred in 2000 in which a boat, carrying Haitians to the Turks and Caicos Islands, capsized and killed sixty people that were on board.References
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