Senate Finance Chair Wants Retroactive AGOA, Haiti Programs
Tariff preferences for sub-Saharan African countries and two of the three tariff preference programs for Haiti ended Oct. 1. In a hallway interview at the Capitol, Senate Finance Chairman Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, said that he "would love to [renew both] retroactively."
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He said, "I can only speak about me, personally. I hope that we can get it done as soon as possible." He added, "Whether there is a pathway to do that, it is not clear."
The increase in tariffs for African Growth and Opportunity Act countries is small compared with the reciprocal tariffs' effect, according to an analysis from the International Trade Centre in Geneva. Across all AGOA countries, new Section 232 tariffs and reciprocal tariffs added about 13 percentage points to average duties; AGOA's lapse adds up to 1 percentage point.
However, for the heaviest users in the apparel sector -- Kenya, Lesotho and Madagascar -- tariffs increase by 11 percentage points, 10 percentage points and 6.9 percentage points, respectively.
The ITC pointed out that while just under 44% of exports from AGOA beneficiaries were covered by the tariff preferences, more than 96% of apparel exports got a break with AGOA.
"At the country level, Benin (99.3%), Lesotho (98.7%) and Kenya (92.9%) relied heavily on the programme to maintain competitiveness, particularly in apparel and processed food," the analysis said.
The American Apparel and Footwear Association issued a statement Oct. 1 about its "deep disappointment" that AGOA, the Haitian Hemispheric Opportunity through Partnership Encouragement (HOPE) Act, and the Haiti Economic Lift Program (HELP) Act (Haiti HOPE/HELP) trade preference programs were allowed to expire.
"AAFA is calling on Congress and the Administration to take steps to extend these programs, retroactively, immediately," it said.
"Despite persistent and constructive engagement from a wide range of stakeholders, Congress has fallen short in renewing these mutually beneficial programs, ultimately surrendering further strength to China’s manufacturing influence by placing unnecessary obstacles in the way of viable sourcing alternatives," said Beth Hughes, vice president of trade and customs for AAFA.