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Coalition Launches Effort to Extend African Trade Benefits

Published date:
Monday, 24 November 2003

The proposed enhancement to the landmark U.S. trade partnership with more than 35 nations in sub-Saharan Africa known as the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) came a step closer to becoming law with its introduction in the Senate and House of Representatives November 20 and 21, respectively.

S. (Senate) 1900 and HR (House of Representatives) 3572 -- bills collectively called AGOA III -- were part of a flurry of legislation that energized Congress prior to its Thanksgiving recess. Lawmakers in the House are running behind in passing bills that cover the federal government's expenses so debate in the House and Senate on the trade bill is slated for sometime after the short recess.

[President Clinton signed AGOA, the first-ever trade pact with the continent, into law in 2000. Its range of favorable trade benefits to reforming African nations was extended in AGOA II, a bill that was signed into law by President Bush in 2002. Earlier this year, President Bush announced the program should be extended beyond 2008.]

In the Senate, Chairman of the Committee on Foreign Relations Richard Lugar (Republican of Indiana) said AGOA III "recognizes the enormous potential for economic growth and development in sub-Saharan Africa. It embraces the vast diversity of people, cultures, economies, and potential among 48 countries and nearly 700 million people. A stable and economically prosperous Africa can provide new partnerships that will contribute greatly to our commercial and security interests."

After AGOA III's introduction in the House, late in the evening of November 21, Chairman of the House Africa Subcommittee Ed Royce (Republican of California), said: "There should be a sense of urgency about Africa, which is challenged in so many ways. A more developed trade relationship with Africa, which is what we're aiming for with AGOA III, is very important to the continent's future."

Reflecting the bipartisan support the bill has, Representative Jim McDermott (Democrat of Washington) said: "The legislation that we introduced today responds to what we have learned since AGOA's enactment. It aims to build and broaden the AGOA's benefits so that other sectors, particularly agriculture and value-added agriculture products, can participate in the American market."

McDermott, who because of his earlier backing of the trade bill is sometimes called "The Father of AGOA," added, "All of us look forward to working with our colleagues, with Chairman [Bill] Thomas [Republican of California], and the Bush administration to improve this bill and to help the economies of sub-Saharan Africa reach their potential."

Representative Charles Rangel (Democrat of New York), a chief co-sponsor of AGOA III, said: "Today, we start an important new chapter to broaden and deepen the economic and commercial relationship between the United States and the countries of sub-Saharan Africa. This bill will allow us to build on the phenomenal success of AGOA I and AGOA II and ensure that that success continues into the future."

According to a press release from Chairman Royce's office, the AGOA III enhancements in both the Senate and House versions would:

-- extend AGOA through at least 2015;

-- extend for four years the ability for the poorest AGOA-eligible countries to use third-country fabric for duty-free apparel exports to the U.S.;

-- provide a significant amount of technical assistance to African farmers so that they can meet the strict U.S. sanitary/phytosanitary requirements;

-- reduce the challenges and barriers that African farmers face trying to export their goods to the United States; and

-- develop initiatives to help Africa build the capacity and the infrastructure (transportation, energy, telecommunications, water) necessary to increase two-way trade flow.

(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)



Latest AGOA Trade Data on AGOA.info

For more about AGOA click here .

Regularly updated trade statistics on AGOA.info include:

  • All Countries’ AGOA and GSP Trade Overview

  • AGOA Trade by Industry Sector

  • Apparel Trade under AGOA’s Wearing Apparel Provisions

  • Latest Apparel Quotas under AGOA

  • Bilateral Trade Data for all AGOA-eligible countries individually.

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