Agoa.info - African Growth and Opportunity Act
TRALAC - Trade Law Centre
You are here: Home/News/Article/Remarks by the President at signing of the Trade Preferences Extension Act of 2015 (AGOA)

Remarks by the President at signing of the Trade Preferences Extension Act of 2015 (AGOA)

Remarks by the President at signing of the Trade Preferences Extension Act of 2015 (AGOA)
Published date:
Monday, 29 June 2015
Author:
Office of the Press Secretary

THE PRESIDENT:  Thank you.  Well, welcome to the White House.  

I thought we’d start off the week with something we should do more often -- a truly bipartisan bill signing.  (Applause.) 

For six and a half years, we’ve worked to rescue the economy from the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression, to get it growing again and to rebuild it on a new foundation for prosperity.

Today, our businesses have created more than 12 million new jobs in the past five years -- that's the longest streak of job growth on record; 401(k)s have been replenished; the housing market is stronger; and more than 16 million Americans have gained the financial security of health insurance. (Applause.)   

But a constantly changing economy demands our constant effort to protect hardworking Americans and protect their success.  And one of the things we ought to be doing is rewriting the rules of global trade to make sure that they benefit American workers and American businesses, and that they reflect American values -- especially now, while our economy is in a position of global strength.  The two bills that I’ll sign today will help America do just that.  

The first will help us pass new, 21st century trade agreements with higher standards and tougher protections than those that we’ve signed before.  The Trans-Pacific Partnership, for example, includes strong protections for workers and the environment.  Unlike previous agreements, those provisions will actually be enforceable.  And that’s good for American businesses and America workers because we already meet high standards than -- higher standards than most of the rest of the world.  So we want to make sure that everybody else catches up. This agreement will help us level the playing field.

The second bill offers even more support for American workers.  It renews and expands the trade adjustment assistance program, which provides job training and other assistance to tens of thousands of American workers every year.  It gives us new tools to help American steelworkers and folks in other critical industries fight against unfair practices by other countries.  It also reauthorizes AGOA, the African Growth and Opportunity Act, which has had strong bipartisan support for many years now, and which helps open up markets in Africa to American businesses while making it easier for African businesses to sell their products in America.  And we’re extending a similar program to Haiti, and renewing support for other development -- developing economies through what’s known as the Generalized System of Preferences.

Now, I think it’s fair to say that getting these bills through Congress has not been easy.  (Laughter.)  They’ve been declared dead more than once.  They have inspired long and passionate debates -- and that’s entirely appropriate for our democracy.  That’s how this country is supposed to work.  We're supposed to make sure that we air our differences and then, ultimately, Congress works its will -- especially on issues that inspire strongly held feelings on all sides.  

But I would not be doing this, I would not be signing these bills if I was not absolutely convinced that these pieces of legislation are ultimately good for American workers.  I would not be signing them if I wasn’t convinced they’d be good for American businesses.  I would not be signing them if I did not know that they will give us a competitive edge in this new economy, and that that new economy cannot be reversed.  We have to embrace it.

This legislation will help turn global trade -- which can often be a race to the bottom -- into a race to the top.  It will reinforce America’s leadership role in the world -– in Asia, and in Europe, and beyond.  If I didn’t believe it, I wouldn’t have fought so hard to get these things done.

So this is a good day.  And I want to thank everybody who has helped us get it -- get to this day.  We’ve got small business owners, environmental and global development groups, other advocates who were a big part of this campaign.  We’ve got some outstanding members of Congress, both Republican and Democrat, who came together to make this happen.  I want to name just a few.  Although Congress is on recess, I think it’s important to acknowledge Speaker John Boehner and Leader Mitch McConnell; Senators Orrin Hatch, Ron Wyden and Patty Murray; Congressmen Paul Ryan, Ron Kind and Pat Tiberi.  And thanks to all the senators and representatives who took tough votes and encouraged their colleagues to do the same.

This was a true bipartisan effort.  And it’s a reminder of what we can get done –- even on the toughest issues -- when we work together in a spirit of compromise.  I hope we’re going to be able to summon that same spirit on future challenges, like starting to rebuild some of our roads and bridges and infrastructure around the country -- (applause) -- because the American people deserve nothing less from us.  

Let me just make one more comment.  The trade authorization that’s provided here is not the actual trade agreements.  So we still have some tough negotiations that are going to be taking place.  There has always been concern that people want transparency in those agreements -- under this authorization, these agreements will be posted on a website for a long period of time for people to scrutinize, and take a look at, and pick apart.  

And so the debate on the particular provisions of trade will not end with this bill signing.  But I’m very confident that we’re going to be able to say at the end of the day that the trade agreements that come under this authorization are going to improve the system of trade that we have right now.  And that’s a good thing.

I think it’s also important to note that trade is just one part of a broader agenda of middle-class economics.  And so we’ve still got more work to do on infrastructure.  We’ve still got more work to do on job training.  We’ve still got more work to do on research and development.  We’ve still got more work to do to make sure that folks are getting good wages for hard work.  We’ve still got too many communities that are left behind around the country.  We’ve still got more work to do to help support our small businesses, who are extraordinary job creators.

So this is not the end of the road; this is just one step in a long path to making sure that the next generation enjoys the extraordinary prosperity that our parents and grandparents passed down to us.  And although there are going to be disagreements between the parties on particular elements, I think what we can agree on is that in this country, if you work hard, you should be able to get ahead no matter where you come from, what you look like, or who you love.  (Applause.) 

With that, let me sign this piece of legislation.  (Applause.) 

(The bill is signed.)

All right.  For those of you who work for me, get back to work.  (Laughter.)  

Thank you very much, everybody.  (Applause.) 

END   

2:23 P.M. EDT

Read related news articles

US and African civil society stakeholders seek AGOA extension

A Civil Society Organisation, Network and other stakeholders from across the United States and African Growth and Opportunity Act-eligible countries have petitioned the President of the United States of America, Joe Biden, to consider an extension of the initiative. The CSO made the plea in a letter dated February 16, 2024, titled ‘Petition for Timely Re-Authorisation and Enhancement of the African Growth and Opportunity Act Beyond...

16 February 2024

House Ways and Means Committee leadership statement on meeting with ambassadors from select AGOA countries

Ways and Means Committee Chairman Jason Smith (MO-08) and Ranking Member Richard E. Neal (MA-01) released the following statement after hosting a bipartisan roundtable with Committee members and ambassadors from several African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) countries. AGOA is a U.S. trade program focused on strengthening economic ties between the United States and nations in Sub-Saharan Africa. “We appreciate the ambassadors from...

18 January 2024

WEF - How has AGOA benefited African countries?

The African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) is a trade agreement between the United States and sub-Saharan African countries. Agoa has helped to increase trade and investment between Africa and the US. It has also helped to create jobs and boost economic growth in Africa. African countries are calling for it to be extended. To what extent has the AGOA goal been achieved? The duty- and quota-free access to the US market granted by Agoa...

16 November 2023

South Africa’s AGOA forum: Crafting future pathways for US-Africa trade partnership

Ultimately the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) could be extended by 16 years, that means until 2041, indicating its importance for strengthening Africa’s trade and economic cooperation with United States. That was, in fact, the main focus during Johannesburg’s early November forum that brought together more than 30 trade ministers, astute investors plus representatives from the regional economic blocs and the African Union. At...

14 November 2023

Africa-US trade: AGOA expires in 2025 - what has it achieved in 23 years?

African governments are seeking an extension of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) beyond 2025. The law was enacted in 2000 to “encourage increased trade and investment between the United States and sub-Saharan Africa”. We asked David Luke, who specialises in African trade policy and trade negotiations, what benefits Agoa has brought for qualifying African countries and how it can...

12 November 2023

US Senator Chris Coons proposes AGOA extension by 16 years, immediate review of SA’s AGOA eligibility

Powerful US Democratic Party Senator Chris Coons is circulating a discussion draft of a Bill to renew the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) for 16 years that would also require an immediate “out-of-cycle” review of South Africa’s eligibility for Agoa. That could lead to South Africa being removed next year from the programme, which has provided considerable benefits to SA exporters to the US of cars, fruits and wine, in...

07 November 2023

AGOA extension crucial for Ghana’s industrialisation

The Deputy Minister of Trade and Industry Nana Ama Dokua Asiamah-Adjei is supporting the push for the extension of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) to enhance trade between Ghana and the US. A United States Trade Act enacted on 18 May 2000 as Public Law 106 of the 200th Congress, the AGOA legislation has been renewed on different occasions, most recently in 2015, when its period of validity was extended to September 2025. The...

06 November 2023

US-Africa program (AGOA) should be extended through 2041, Senate Democrat says, proposes legislation [Download]

A trade program that grants exports from qualifying African countries duty-free access to the U.S. market should be extended by 16 years, said Democratic Senator Chris Coons, a leading voice on U.S.-Africa policy. Talks are underway for the renewal of the two-decade-old African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), which is due to expire in 2025. African countries want a 10-year renewal of the pact ahead of the 2024 U.S. election. President Joe...

06 November 2023

AGOA: US vows to support regional integration

The United States says it is committed to supporting regional integration in Africa, seeing it as essential for the continent's economic development and prosperity. At a conference on the African Growth and Opportunity Act (Agoa) in Johannesburg, US officials said they were backing the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), even though there will be variations on country specific trading arrangements. Agoa is a trade agreement...

04 November 2023

US committed to ‘seamless’ AGOA renewal, USTR Tai says

The US aims to ensure that its preferential trade pact with Africa is replaced without interruption when it expires in two-year’s time, while bringing it up to date. “We want to make sure that as of Sept. 30, 2025, that there will be another Agoa that will pick up from this one,” said US Trade Representative Katherine Tai, referring to the African Growth and Opportunity Act. “It is a seamless renewal that we’re...

03 November 2023

US president Biden wants to improve US-Africa trade programme, not just renew it - Blinken

President Joe Biden's administration wants to work with Congress to improve the United States' flagship trade programme with Africa, not just renew it without changes, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Friday. First launched in 2000, the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) grants exports from qualifying African countries duty-free access to the United States - the world's largest consumer market. It is due to...

03 November 2023

You are here: Home/News/Article/Remarks by the President at signing of the Trade Preferences Extension Act of 2015 (AGOA)