Lawmakers Request GAO AGOA Review Ahead of 2015 Expiration
House and Senate lawmakers submitted a request on Dec. 12 to the Government Accountability Office (GAO) to conduct a review on the impact of the African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), originally enacted in 2000. The law is due for renewal in 2015. The group of 18 bipartisan, bicameral lawmakers requested responses to the following specific inquiries:
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- How has AGOA contributed to economic growth and poverty reduction in sub-Saharan Africa?
- Have U.S. trade capacity-building programs improved sub-Saharan African countries’ economic competitiveness and diversification? If so, to what extent?
- How have AGOA and U.S. trade capacity-building programs improved regional integration within sub-Saharan Africa and integration of sub-Saharan countries into global supply chains?
- Is a lack of infrastructure development, including in the energy sector, preventing sub-Saharan African countries from fully utilizing AGOA? If so, to what extent? Can measures under AGOA and other U.S. programs further improve infrastructure development?
- What steps have AGOA-eligible countries taken to utilize and maximize the effectiveness of AGOA within their respective countries?
- To what extent has the AGOA eligibility and certification process supported reform efforts and rule of law objectives in sub-Saharan African countries?
- How have actions by Brazil, Russia, India and China (the BRICs) and the European Union (EU) in Africa, including the imposition of EU Economic Partnership Agreements and bilateral trade initiatives, such as the EU-South Africa Trade, Development, and Cooperation Agreement, affected the effectiveness of AGOA?
- Section 116(a) of AGOA provides that "Congress declares that free trade agreements should be negotiated, where feasible, with interested countries in sub-Saharan Africa, in order to serve as the catalyst for increasing trade between the United States and sub-Saharan Africa and increasing private sector investment in sub-Saharan Africa.” Are there impediments to the participation of AGOA countries in bilateral and multilateral trade negotiations, including trade agreement negotiations with the United States and at the World Trade Organization? If so, please identify them.
- To what extent has the AGOA Forum facilitated the achievement of AGOA’s objectives?
- What factors have affected AGOA’s ability to increase two-way trade and investment flows between sub-Saharan Africa and the United States?
- What changes or additions to AGOA would enhance its ability to stimulate economic growth and development and increase two-way trade and investment between the United States and sub-Saharan Africa?