USTR Seeks Comments for 2012 Review of AGOA Country Eligibility
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative has announced that the African Growth and Opportunity Act Implementation Subcommittee is requesting written comments by October 11, 2011 for the annual review of the 2012 eligibility of sub-Saharan African countries to receive the benefits of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA).
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(AGOA beneficiary Sub-Saharan African (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.
37 Beneficiary SSA Countries Designated Under AGOA in 2011
The USTR notice lists the following 37 countries as having been designated as beneficiary SSA countries under AGOA in 2011:
| Angola |
| Benin |
| Botswana |
| Burkina Faso |
| Burundi |
| Cape Verde |
| Cameroon |
| Chad |
| Comoros |
| Congo |
| Djibouti |
| Ethiopia |
| Gabonese Republic |
| The Gambia |
| Ghana |
| Guinea-Bissau |
| Kenya |
| Lesotho |
| Liberia |
3 Countries Not Designated as AGOA Beneficiaries Are Not Part of This Review
Three countries that were not designated as AGOA beneficiary countries for 2011 include Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea, and Niger. These countries are the subject of a separate out-of-cycle review that is ongoing, so they are not part of this annual review.
(See ITT's Online Archives or 08/12/11 news, 11081209, for BP summary of USTR announcing a review of these three countries to determine if they should be redesignated as AGOA beneficiaries.)
8 Countries Not Designated as AGOA Beneficiaries Are Up for Review
The following countries that were not designated as beneficiary SSA countries that are up for review are:
| Central African Republic | Madagascar |
| Democratic Republic of Congo | Somalia |
| Equatorial Guinea | Sudan |
| Eritrea | 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, Republic of Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Uganda, and Zambia.
USTR Contact -- Laura Newport (202) 395-9514