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 October 14, 2005 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 additional products.
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 07/14/04 news, 04071405, for BP summary on signing AGOA III into law, for effective dates of AGOA, GSP and Textile benefits 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 412(c) of the Trade and Development Act of 2000.
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 in 2005:
| Angola |
| Benin |
| BotswanaBurkina Faso |
| Cameroon |
| Cape Verde |
| Chad |
| Congo |
| Democratic |
| Republic of the Congo |
In addition, the USTR's notice lists the following 11 countries as not having been designated as beneficiary SSA countries under the AGOA in 2005:
| Burundi | Cote d'Ivoire | Liberia |
| Central African Republic | Equatorial Guinea | Somalia |
| Comoros | Eritrea | Togo |
(See ITT's Online Archives or 12/27/04 news, 04122715, for BP summary of the Presidential Proclamation 7858, which added Burkina Faso and dropped Cote d'Ivoire as AGOA beneficiary SSA beneficiaries.)
- public comments are due by noon on October 14, 2005
| Gloria Blue | (procedural questions) | (202) 395-3475 |
| Constance Hamilton | (all other questions) | (202) 395-9514 |
USTR notice (FR Pub 09/14/05) available at http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20051800/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2005/pdf/05-18278.pdf
BP Note
Of the 37 currently designated AGOA beneficiary SSA countries, the following 24 have been determined to be eligible for the AGOA textile benefits: Benin, Botswana, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Ethiopia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia.