HOPE II is a U.S. law that affords preferential treatment in the form of duty-free access for imports of apparel and certain other goods from Haiti into the United States. This legislation aims to promote progress towards a market-based economy, increasing employment, enhancing the rule of law, eliminating barriers to U.S. trade, combating corruption and protecting internationally recognized human and worker rights. For a producer to remain eligible for this preferential treatment, it must comply with “core labour standards” and with the labour laws of Haiti that directly relate to and are consistent with the core labour standards.

In its fourteen years of operations, the programme has made important strides in improving working conditions and industrial relations in Haiti’s garment industry despite the complex operational context.