USTR Seeks Comments for Annual Review of Country Eligibility for AGOA Benefits
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative (USTR) has issued a notice stating that the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA) Implementation Subcommittee of the Trade Policy Staff Committee (TPSC) is requesting written public comments by noon on September 17, 2004 for the annual review of the eligibility of sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries to receive the benefits of the AGOA.
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(AGOA beneficiary SSA 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 additional 8-digit tariff numbers.)
Furthermore, AGOA beneficiary SSA countries only receive AGOA textile benefits if the USTR has determined that such countries are establishing or have established certain procedures regarding the prevention of illegal textile and apparel transshipment.
See ITT's Online Archives or 12/21/00 news, 00122036, for BP summary of Presidential Proclamation 7388 regarding the AGOA-GSP benefits for 1,835 HTS numbers. See ITT's Online Archives or 07/14/04 news, 04071405 for BP summary on signing AGOA III into law, which extended both the standard GSP program and the AGOA-GSP program through September 30, 2015 for AGOA SSA beneficiary countries.)
Comments to be Considered When Developing USTR's Recommendations to President
According to the USTR, the President is required to monitor, review, and report to Congress annually on the progress of each SSA country in meeting the AGOA eligibility criteria in order to determine the current or potential eligibility of each country to be designated as an AGOA beneficiary SSA country. The USTR states that the AGOA Implementation Subcommittee will consider any comments received in developing recommendations on country eligibility for the President.
The USTR notes that comments received related to the AGOA child labor criteria may also be considered by the Secretary of Labor in making the findings required under section 504 of the Trade Act of 1974.
37 AGOA Beneficiary SSA Countries (11 SSA Countries Not Eligible)
The USTR's notice lists the following 37 countries as having been designated beneficiary SSA countries under the AGOA for 2004:
| Angola | Djibouti |
| Benin | Ethiopia |
| Botswana | Gabonese Republic |
| Cameroon | Gambia |
| Cape Verde | Ghana |
| Chad | Guinea |
| Congo | Guinea-Bissau |
| Cte d'Ivoire | Kenya |
| Democratic Republic | Lesotho |
| of the Congo | Madagascar |
In addition, the USTR's notice lists the following 11 countries as not having been designated as beneficiary SSA countries under the AGOA for 2004:
| Burkina Faso | Comoros | Liberia |
| Burundi | Equatorial Guinea | Somalia |
| Central African Republic | Eritrea | Togo |
(See ITT's Online Archives or 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 Central African Republic and Eritrea. See ITT's Online Archives or 01/09/04 news, 04010910, for BP summary of the President's approval of the AGOA-eligible designation for the 37 above-listed SSA countries.)
- public comments are due by noon on September 17, 2004.
| Gloria Blue | (procedural questions) | (202) 395-3475 |
| Constance Hamilton | (all other questions) | (202) 395-9514 |
USTR notice (FR Pub 08/26/04) available at http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/06jun20041800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2004/pdf/04-19556.pdf
BP Note
Of the 37 currently designated beneficiary SSA countries, the following 25 have been determined to be eligible for the AGOA textile benefits: Benin, Botswana, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Cte d'Ivoire, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. (See ITT's Online Archives or 07/15/04 news, 04071525, for BP summary of USTR's most recent determination listing Nigeria as eligible for these AGOA textile benefits.)