In response to a congressional request, GAO surveyed 285 new businesses in the Caribbean Basin region regarding their operations in Central America and the Caribbean, specifically: (1) how the Department of Commerce developed its list of businesses; (2) the data Commerce obtained on the businesses; and (3) the results of GAO conversations with some of the businesses. GAO found that: (1) the Commerce list is not a reliable indicator of business investments made as a result of the Caribbean Basin Initiative (CBI) and is useless in measuring the program's effectiveness; (2) the list lacked information on businesses' addresses, phone numbers, and commencement of operation dates; (3) publicized information on successful ventures could inform and encourage potential investors; (4) Commerce's data should differentiate among proposed and actual investments, new firms opened and expanded due to CBI trade provisions, and new business activities indirectly related to CBI, to lessen the risk of misinterpreted or misrepresented information; (5) some firms on the list were not related to CBI trade provisions; and (6) 37 of the 106 firms contacted said CBI had greatly influenced their decisions to establish operations in the Caribbean Basin, while 39 said CBI had not been a factor in their decisions.