AGOA Expansion Bill Introduced in the House

According to a Ways and Means Committee summary and the text of H.R. 4103, the African Growth and Opportunity (AGOA) Acceleration Act would provide:

7- year extension of overall AGOA program -extend the overall AGOA program from September 30, 2008 to September 30, 2015;

Increase aggregate duty-free cap for AGOA apparel -increase the aggregate cap for apparel made from certain AGOA or third country fabric or yarn (HTS 9819.11.09 and 9819.11.12) by having the applicable percentage, which would be 4.747% beginning October 1, 2003, increase in each of the five succeeding one-year periods by equal increments, so that for the one-year period beginning October 1, 2007, the applicable percentage does not exceed 7%, and for each succeeding one-year period until September 30, 2015, not to exceed 7%;

(Under current law, the applicable percentage - which refers to the percentage of the aggregate square meter equivalents of all apparel articles imported into the U.S. in the preceding 12-month period for which data are available - cannot exceed 3.5%.)

Extend for three years duty-free sublimit on AGOA apparel made from "third country" fabric/yarn -extend the duty-free sublimit on AGOA apparel made from "third country" fabric/yarn for three years, from September 30, 2004 to September 30, 2007, including a phase down in year three. The sublimit would remain at the full current level available in years one and two, but would be phased down by 50% in the third year;

(The current duty-free sublimit under HTS 9819.11.12 on AGOA apparel made from "third country" fabric/yarn expires on September 30, 2004. HTS 9819.11.12 covers apparel articles wholly assembled, or knit-to-shape and wholly assembled, or both, in one or more lesser developed AGOA beneficiary countries, regardless of the country of origin of the fabric or the yarn used to make such articles (i.e., "third-country" fabric or yarn). See ITT's Online Archives or 09/24/03 news, 03092420, for BP summary on the 2003/2004 AGOA apparel cap and its sublimit for apparel made from 'third country" fabric/yarn.)

Allow non-AGOA collars and cuffs, future FTA partners, etc. -include a statement of Congressional policy that textile and apparel provisions under AGOA should be interpreted in a broad and trade-expanding manner to maximize opportunities for imports from Africa, accompanied by minor technical corrections to reverse certain Customs interpretations;

Provisions would also be added to modify the rules of origin to allow the use of non-AGOA produced collars and cuffs for all import categories. It would also include continued use of fabric from AGOA countries that also become free trade partners with the U.S., such as South Africa.

Expand AGOA folklore coverage to ethnic fabric -expand the current folklore AGOA coverage to include certain qualifying ethnic fabric made on machines;

(Such fabrics would, among other things, would be those containing a selvedge on both edges, having a width of less than 50 inches, classifiable under HTS 5208.52.30 or 5208.52.40.)

Implement trade advisory committee -direct the Administration to implement an interagency trade advisory committee;

Facilitate increased customs service cooperation -facilitate increased coordination between customs services at ports and airports in the U.S. and sub-Saharan countries to reduce time in transit and increase efficiency and safety procedures;

Sense of the Congress on WTO negotiations, etc. -provide a Sense of the Congress that Africans should support World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations and trade liberalization;

Bilateral investment agreements -encourage bilateral investment agreements;

Agricultural technical assistance -direct the President to assign personnel for the purpose of providing agricultural technical assistance to select AGOA countries and advise them on improvements in their sanitary and phytosanitary standards to help them meet U.S. requirements;

Investment in infrastructure projects -promote investment in infrastructure projects that support the development of land transport roads, railways, and ports, the expansion of modern information and communication technologies, and agriculture;

Findings and statements on the benefits of AGOA, etc. -include findings and statements of policy about the benefits to Africa of AGOA and supporting various sub-Saharan African efforts such as the reduction of poverty, promotion of peace, attraction of investment and trade, and the fight against HIV-AIDS; and

Infrastructure projects that increase trade capacity -encourage the development of infrastructure projects that increase trade capacity through the ecotourism industry.

Press release on the introduction of H.R. 4103 (dated 04/01/04) available at http://waysandmeans.house.gov/News.asp?FormMode=print&ID=188.

Ways and Means Committee summary of H.R. 4103 available at http://waysandmeans.house.gov/media/pdf/trade/agoafacts.pdf.

Text of H.R. 4103 available at

http://waysandmeans.house.gov/media/pdf/trade/hr4103.pdf.