CBC chairman concerned trade maneuvers imperil Africa pact
Trade Adjustment Assistance legislation could be a casualty of efforts to stymie Trade Promotion Authority; now, some members fear the long-heralded African Growth and Opportunity Act could fall to the wayside, too.
As pro-trade lawmakers from both parties in the House and Senate move ahead with an effort to pass “fast-track” negotiating authority Thursday using a complex procedural maneuver, some skeptical Democrats are raising concerns the TPA maneuvering endangers the renewal of AGOA, a multi-nation pact that has long enjoyed bipartisan support.
“We urge you to pass [AGOA] without attaching any unrelated amendments,” four influential Democrats wrote Wednesday to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, in a letter obtained by CQ Roll Call. “AGOA is too important to be used as a bargaining chip to pass unrelated trade legislation.”
The cosigners are Rep. G.K. Butterfield, chairman of the Congressional Black Caucus; Rep. Karen Bass, a Foreign Affairs subcommittee ranking member and the lead Democratic author of the AGOA reauthorization; Rep. Keith Ellison, co-chairman of the Congressional Progressive Caucus; and Rep. Barbara Lee, a co-chairwoman of a CBC working group on poverty and the economy.
All four are in the CBC, with Lee a former chairwoman of the group.
The letter comes as the House is poised to pass TPA as a stand-alone measure on Thursday and ship it over to the Senate, which would then vote to clear the bill for the president’s signature. The Senate also would put language as a rider in another, tangentially related bill — one that would, among other things, secure a 10-year extension of AGOA, a trade preferences program that facilitates an economic partnership between the U.S. and sub-Saharan Africa.
The House would then have to pass the amended AGOA bill in order to protect that initiative as well as TAA, which provides resources to retrain American workers displaced by international trade agreements.
House Democrats have historically championed TAA, but the problem now is progressives don’t like the current iteration as written, contending it contains some harmful spending cuts and doesn’t do enough to protect public employees hurt by global trade. One hundred and forty four Democrats voted against it last week and would gladly do so again.
Even with the popular AGOA attached, there’s no guarantee enough Democrats rally to save the TAA on a second vote.
North Carolina’s Butterfield, Minnesota’s Ellison and Californians Bass and Lee did not explicitly say the TAA language was a nonstarter for them if confronted with having to vote a second time on AGOA. But it’s clear the four Democrats are wary of efforts to use AGOA to make TAA easier to swallow.
Read related news articles
African trade coalition backs AGOA 16-year renewal bill to boost trade prospects
The African Coalition for Trade (ACT) has voiced its support for the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Renewal and Improvement Act of 2024 and credits the bill with creating hundreds of thousands of direct jobs in Africa and the US. The AGOA Renewal and Improvement Act of 2024 which was introduced by Senators Chris Coons and James Risch would extend the bill for 16 years until 2041 and continue to boost Africa’s duty-free status as...
18 April 2024
US apparel and footwear industry supports 16 year AGOA renewal
The American Apparel & Footwear Association applauds Senator Chris Coons (D-DE) and Senator James Risch (R-ID) for introducing the AGOA Renewal and Improvement Act of 2024.Currently set to expire in September 2025, AGOA is a pivotal trade preference program that provides duty-free access to the U.S. market, fostering economic growth and opportunity between the U.S. and eligible African countries. This program is the cornerstone of...
11 April 2024
US senators will introduce bill to renew Africa trade pact through 2041 [Download copy]
A bipartisan group of senators will introduce a bill to renew the United States' trade pact with sub-Saharan Africa ahead of its expiration next year, an aide to one of the senators said on Thursday. [ Download it here and download a summary here] The bill was introduced by Senators Chris Coons, a Democrat, and James Risch, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. A cross-party group of...
11 April 2024
US manufacturing subsidies for Africa could help revive AGOA
Experts at the Center for Global Development argue that the unconventional approach could bring billions in new trade opportunities and would fit with US “friend-shoring” efforts. The US should pay ‘negative tariffs’ in Africa – essentially targeted manufacturing subsidies – to help revive its faltering African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), according to a new report from the Washington-based Center for Global...
05 April 2024
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