Caribbean Basin Trade and Partnership Act - Eligibility Review Factors

Eligibility Review Factors

In considering the eligibility of these countries for CBTPA Beneficiary Country status, the CBTPA required the President to take into account the existing eligibility criteria of the CBERA, as well as several new criteria elaborated in the CBTPA. These new criteria include:

1. Whether the beneficiary country has demonstrated a commitment to undertake its obligations under the WTO on or ahead of schedule and participate in negotiations toward the completion of the FTAA or another free trade agreement.
2. The extent to which the country provides protection of intellectual property rights consistent with or greater than the protection afforded under the Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights.
3. The extent to which the country provides internationally recognized worker's rights, including:
   1. the right of association;
   2. the right to organize and bargain collectively;
   3. a prohibition on the use of any form of forced or compulsory labor;
   4. a minimum age for the employment of children; and
   5. acceptable conditions of work with respect to minimum wages, hours of work, and occupational safety and health;
4. Whether the country has implemented its commitments to eliminate the worst forms of child labor.
5. The extent to which the country has met U.S. counter-narcotics certification criteria under the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961.
6. The extent to which the country has taken steps to become a party to and implements the Inter-American Convention Against Corruption.
7. The extent to which the country applied transparent, nondiscriminatory and competitive procedures in government procurement, and contribute to efforts in international for to develop an implement rules on transparency in government procurement.