President Bush Approves AGOA Eligibility Designation for 37 SSA Beneficiary Countries
The White House has issued a press release stating that on December 30, 2003, President Bush approved the designation of the following 37 sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries as eligible for tariff preferences under the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA):
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| Angola | Ghana |
| Benin | Guinea |
| Botswana | Guinea-Bissau |
| Cameroon | Kenya |
| Cape Verde | Lesotho |
| Chad | Madagascar |
| Republic of the Congo | Malawi |
| Cote d'Ivoire | Mali |
| Dem. Republic of the Congo | Mauritania |
| Djibouti | Mauritius |
| Ethiopia | Mozambique |
| Gabon | Namibia |
| The Gambia | Niger |
According to U.S. government sources, this year the 37 countries listed above represent those AGOA countries designated both as eligible SSA countries under 19 USC 3703 and as beneficiary SSA countries ("AGOA beneficiary countries") under 19 USC 2466a.
(AGOA beneficiary countries receive both standard duty-free benefits under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP) program and AGOA-GSP duty-free benefits for approximately 1,835 specified HTS numbers (identified in the HTS by the Special Subcolumn symbol 'D.').)
The press release states that the above list signifies that these countries are making continued progress toward a market-based economy, the rule of law, free trade, economic policies that will reduce poverty, and protection of worker's rights.
Angola Added and Eritrea and Central African Republic Removed from the List
Changes in the above list from the previous year's list are the addition of Angola and the removal of Eritrea and Central African Republic.
(See ITT's 01/07/04 news, 04010705, for BP summary of Presidential Proclamation 7748, which designated Angola as an AGOA beneficiary country and terminated the AGOA designation for Eritrea and Central African Republic.)
Twenty-two of these 37 Countries Have AGOA Textile Benefits
Of the 37 currently designated beneficiary SSA countries, the following 22 have been determined to be eligible for the AGOA textile benefits: Botswana, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Cote d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia.
(See ITT's Online Archives or 12/22/03 news, 03122230, for BP summary of USTR's most recent determination listing Cote d'Ivoire as eligible for these AGOA textile benefits.)
White House press release (dated 12/30/03) available at http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/12/20031230-8.html