"I am particularly pleased that we were able to extend, for the first time, overdue trade preferences to the people of Haiti, Said [Charles B. Rangel], who represents New York's 15th Congressional District. "I welcome the opportunity to work with my colleagues to correct and improve legislation that better serves the American people," he added. "We can and will do more to ensure that our policies spread the benefits and opportunities of our trade and tax system to all levels of society," Rangel declared.
"The CBC and CARICOM pledged to strengthen their relationship in a structured manner," said Dr. Ralph Gonsalves, the St. Vincent and the Grenadines prime minister and former CARICOM chairman. The congressman said if the next Conference on the Caribbean is held in New York, it would enable greater participation from the Congressional Black Caucus (CBC) and the Caribbean diaspora in New York, which has the greatest concentration of Caribbean nationals in the U.S.
