USTR Seeks Comments for 2010 Review of AGOA Country Eligibility
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative announces that the African Growth and Opportunity Act Implementation Subcommittee of the Trade Policy Staff Committee is requesting written public comments for the annual review of the eligibility of sub-Saharan African (SSA) countries to receive AGOA benefits.
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Comments are due by 12:00 p.m. on October 21, 2010.
(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. For these countries, both the GSP program (i.e., A, A*, and A+) and the AGOA-GSP program (i.e., D) remain in effect through September 30, 2015.)
In addition, certain AGOA beneficiary SSA countries receive AGOA textile benefits1 if the USTR has determined that such countries are establishing or have established certain procedures regarding the prevention of illegal textile and apparel transshipments.)
Comments to be Considered in President Recommendations, Child Labor Report
The President is required to monitor and review annually the progress of each SSA country in meeting the AGOA eligibility criteria. The AGOA Implementation Subcommittee will consider any comments received in developing recommendations on country eligibility for the President.
In addition, comments received related to the AGOA child labor criteria may also be considered by the Secretary of Labor for the preparation of the Department of Labor's report on child labor.
38 AGOA Beneficiary SSA Countries (10 Countries Not Designated)
The USTR notice lists the following 38 countries as having been designated beneficiary SSA countries under the AGOA in 2010:
| Angola | Benin |
| Botswana | Burkina Faso |
| Burundi | Cape Verde |
| Cameroon | Chad |
| Comoros | Republic of Congo |
| Democratic Republic of Congo | Djibouti |
| Ethiopia | Gabonese Republic |
| The Gambia | Ghana |
| Guinea-Bissau | Kenya |
| Kingdom of Lesotho | Liberia |
| Malawi | Mali |
| Mauritania2 | Mauritius |
| Mozambique | Namibia |
| Nigeria | Rwanda |
| Sao Tome & Principe | Senegal |
| Seychelles | Sierra Leone |
| South Africa | Kingdom of Swaziland |
| United Tanzania | Togo |
| Uganda | Zambia |
The USTR's notice also lists the following 10 countries as not having been designated as beneficiary SSA countries under the AGOA in 2010:
| Central African Republic | Cote d'Ivoire |
| Guinea2 | Equatorial Guinea |
| Eritrea | Madagascar2 |
| Niger2 | Somalia |
| Sudan | Zimbabwe |
1The following AGOA beneficiary countries, as listed in HTS Chapter 98, Subchapter XIX, U.S. Note 1, are currently eligible for these Chapter 98 benefits: Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Chad, Ethiopia, The Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia.
2On December 23, 2009, President Obama issued Proclamation 8468, which redesignated Mauritania as a lesser-developed AGOA beneficiary country, effective December 23, 2009, and terminated Guinea, Madagascar, and Niger as AGOA beneficiary countries, effective January 1, 2010.
(See ITT's Online Archives or 12/28/09 and 12/30/09 news, 09122805 and 09123030, for BP summaries.)
| Gloria Blue (technical questions) | (202) 395-3475 |
| Constance Hamilton (other questions) | (202) 395-9514 |
(FR Pub 10/04/10)